Pvt banks back to drawing board, expand branch network to boost efficiency

HDFC Bank added more than four times the number of branches in FY19 compared to the previous year

Adding physical bran­ches after a digital push may sound unlikely but private banks have expanded their branch networks in the past year and worked to improve their efficiency and profitability. 

This is in contrast to previous years when it was thought that digitisation would lead to fewer new branches being added. Instead of making br­an­ches obsolete, digitisation has given banks a chance to switch to more viable branch models. Private bank executives say branches play an important role in customer acquisition, loan origination, and deposit mobilisation.

“Branch banking is an integral part of our growth strategy and we believe