PNB to expand footprint in Orissa

The public sector Punjab National Bank (PNB) proposes to open 62 new branches in Orissa to expand its foot print in the state, particularly in the under-banked districts.

“We want to have presence in all 30 districts of the state and for this our focus is under-banked districts, identified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)”, said BP Ray, PNB’s Orissa circle head.

According to RBI, 26 out of 30 districts in the state are under-banked. This means there are not enough bank branches in these districts compared to the population.

While there are 66 branches of PNB covering 22 districts in the state at present, three more branches would be opened in the state in the next two months. Two new branches would be opened at Sonepur and Kendrapara in the current month and another branch at Aska would be opened at Aska in Ganjam district, he said.

More branches would come up in phases as and when the bank board approves them, he added.   The New Delhi based bank aims to do Rs 4270 crore business in the state during the current year. It includes Rs 3000 crore in deposits and Rs 1270 crore in advances. In the last fiscal, the bank had achieved Rs 3240 crore business which included Rs 2267 crore deposits and Rs 973 crore advances.

The thrust area identified for advances include the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), agriculture and education sectors, he said.

The bank has announced a festival bonanza offer for the house and car loans. The interest rate of the housing loan is reduced from 9.25 percent to 8.50 percent in the special offer up to Rs 32 lakh for a period of three years. There will be no processing fees or the document charge for the sanction of housing loan. The offer is only applicable from 14 August to 31 October.  

Similarly the rate of interest in the car loan has been reduced from 10.50 percent to 10 percent during this special offer period by the bank.

The bank, which has disbursed Rs 107 crore and Rs 10 crore housing and car loan respectively so far, expects the advances to go up substantially during the offer period. The bank, however, has not fixed any target for this special offer period. BNB has also provided Rs 36 crore education loan in the state.