OBC plans to expand reach to UK and Hong Kong

After opening its first overseas branch last month, state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) is planning to expand its global footprint further by opening offices in the UK and Hong Kong.     

"The overseas expansion plan is at very initial stage but Hong Kong and the UK is on our radar," OBC Executive Director H Ratanakar Hegde told PTI.      

The bank plans to open a subsidiary in the UK while a full-service branch in Hong Kong to cater to a large non-resident population in these two countries and provide trade financing to Indian corporates from those locations, he said.      

The city-based bank opened a representative branch in Dubai on March 30. With this, the bank has got its first overseas presence after being established in Lahore in 1943, he said.      

On the domestic expansion front, Hegde said, the bank plans to open about 100 branches during the current fiscal.      

By the end of March 2010, the total branch network would cross 1,500, he said.      

At the same time, the bank is also planning to recruit 2,000 staff during the current fiscal at various level, he said, adding, the bank is already in the process of recruiting 1,838 people.

For the financial year ended March 31, 2009, OBC reported over two-fold growth in net profit at Rs 906 crore. It had a net profit of Rs 363 crore in FY'08.      

The total income rose to Rs 9,927.79 crore during FY'09, from Rs 7,454.84 crore in the previous fiscal.      

The total business of the bank increased by 25.72% to Rs 1,67,434 crore at the end of March 2009.      

"We expect business-mix to increase by 20-21% during the current fiscal," he said      

The bank aims to reach a business mix of Rs 2,00,000 crore by the end of March 2010.