Mahila Bank to offer services via mobile vans

Bharatiya Mahila Bank Limited (BMB), India’s first women’s bank launched by the government four months ago, is considering to have mobile banking vans fitted with automatic teller machines (ATMs) to cater to customers living in areas where there are no bank network.

“We cannot expect women to visit our Hyderabad branch from far off places around the city. Also, we cannot have a wider branch network to be present in every neighborhood like the established public sector banks. Therefore, we are thinking of launching mobile banking vans that visit different locations at the fixed time schedules,” BMB chairman and managing director Usha Ananthasubramanian told reporters, after inaugurating a branch here on Saturday.

According to Ananthasubramanian, the bank has nineteen branches so far and by the end of this month another four-five branches  would come up. There are plans to open 55-60 more branches in the next financial year.

Each branch will be manned by five-six staff, out of this senior positions are being filled by people brought from other banks on a three-year deputation. Staff manning front offices will be recruited by BMB.

“We are an all-women bank and not a poor women bank as some would think,” she said, insisting that the branding was an important step to build a customer base and to make each branch a self-sustaining one. She said the bank was also receiving applications for large loans.

The focus would be to support women who plan to start their own business however small they might be, directly and also indirectly through NGOs and self-help groups, according to her.

“We do not mind if these intermediaries charge a 1-2 per cent additional interest from the women clients where we cannot directly reach out to them,” she said.

Responding to a question she said the Reserve Bank of India’s priority sector lending norms would be enforced only from the next year with whatever little advances made this year forming as the base. She refused to divulge any targets for accounts or deposits.

 The bank, started with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore, has been mandated to provide 70 per cent of loans to women clients and the rest is for open for both the genders. Also, women would get a discount in interest rate, depending on the nature and size of the loan product, said Ananthasubramanian.