Bandhan Bank's deposit base crosses Rs.1,500 crore

Bandhan Bank, which started full-fledged banking operations in August this year, has crossed a deposit base of Rs.1,500 crore, a top official of the bank said.

"From August 23 until now, the deposit base has crossed Rs 1,500 crore", chairman and managing director of the private-held bank Chandra Sekhar Ghosh told media persons here on the sidelines of an interactive session organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Kolkata-based bank - held by Bandhan Financial Holdings which is owned by micro-finance company Bandhan Financial Services Limited (BFSL) - started its national operations August 23 onwards.

"It is very encouraging that the deposit base has been so good within such a short period," he added.

Within this timeframe, the bank has managed to take its CASA percentage to 26 with the balance accounting from term deposits.

The CASA ratio is the ratio of deposits in current and saving accounts to total deposits. A higher ratio indicates higher profitability for a financial institution.

Besides, an additional capital inflow of Rs. 500 crore from its existing equity investors - SIDBI, IFC and GIC Sovereign Fund of Singapore - is also under consideration.

It started operations with a capital base of Rs. 2,570 crore and will soon raise it to Rs. 3,052 crore.

With 523 branches and 50 ATMs presently, the bank has planned to open another 109 branches and an extra 100 ATMs by April 2016.