Dena Bank plans to enter the non-life insurance business through a tie-up with a foreign or local partner by the next financial year. | |
| Speaking on the sidelines of the annual FICCI Banking Conclave 2007, P L Gairola, chairman and managing director, Dena Bank, said the plans for the joint venture project, with a 26 per cent equity participation by the bank, would be finalised this fiscal. |
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| "The deal is still in the consultation stage. Our stake in the project could be 26 per cent, but may go up to 29 per cent. The joint venture could be a three- or a four-party deal, in which one partner could be an insurance company. The other partners would be banks, most probably local," said Gairola, adding that the bank had no plans to venture into the life insurance sector at present. |
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| "For the non-life insurance segment, the investment and the gestation time are less than the life insurance sector," he said. |
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| Apart from this, the bank was planning to raise Rs 300 crore in debt through tier I or tier II bonds this fiscal, with a headroom of up to Rs 800 crore in the category. The bank would not prefer to raise funds through perpetual debt, added Gairola. |
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| This year, the bank was looking for a credit and deposit growth of 27 per cent (22 per cent last year) and 23 per cent (18 per cent last year), respectively. |
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| The bank was also planning to open about 35 branches across the country this year. The target for this year's business was Rs 57,000 crore, against Rs 46,500 crore last year. |
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| Also, the bank plans to extend the core banking system services to 100 branches this financial year. Last month, it signed an MoU with Indian Railways for installing 117 ATMs and 85 kiosks in railway stations. |
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| Through the sale of third-party products, the bank was targeting a revenue of around Rs 45 crore, against Rs 8 crore last year. The bank also plans to tie up with State Bank of India for extending its credit card facilities. |
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| With retail, currently, comprising 19 per cent of the total loan book of the bank "� which stands at Rs 18,000 crore "� the bank was looking for a retail growth of 52 per cent over the last year. Further, the bank may reduce the interest rate on deposits by 0.5 per cent this month, informed Gairola. |
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| "For more details, log on to www.business-standard.com" |
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