Ubi & #39;S Net For & #39;00-01 Seen At Rs 180 Crore

City-based public sector bank United Bank of India (UBI) is expected to register Rs 180 crore operating profit for 2000-01 against Rs 140 crore expected initially. The bank will declare its results towards the end of June, said UBI officials.

The increased operating profit has been achieved thanks to increased deposit mobilisation and disbursals. This is the fourth consecutive year when UBI will declare a net operating profit.

Meanwhile, UBI has decided on reducing the number of regional offices it had identified for closure, from the seven regional offices identified initially to only four now. The number of branches to be closed down stands at 55, with 18 bank branches having already been shut down.

On the voluntary retirement front, the management has initiated the process of releasing officers after having released many of its staff.

It is expected that the bank will release almost all its officers opting for retirement before July. Although the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) has resulted in some imbalance in the employee distribution at different branches and offices, UBI will temporarily retain officers without whom it will be impossible to run a particular branch. Decisions relating to redeployment and manpower requirement are yet to be taken at the board level.

The bank has decided on mass promotion from award level to officers grade. To speed up this process, waiver of either the written test or the interview may be granted, said bank officials. Employees would also be transferred according to their skills to fill gaps created in different departments and branches.

Nevertheless, an outgo of Rs 300 crore on account of VRS will reduce the bank's net profit figure by that much amount. Employees are also upset at the banks decision of holding back salary dues amounting to Rs 70 crore from 1997, which also had to be charged in the last fiscal.