SBH plans biometric, mobile ATMs

To open 50 more branches, 250 ATMs next year.

State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) is planning to introduce biometric and mobile ATMs during the next financial year, said managing director Amitabha Guha.

"We plan to launch our first biometric ATM in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh and a mobile ATM in Hyderabad on a pilot basis during the next financial year. We want to assess the acceptance of the illiterate and semi-literate people towards these initiatives before launching them across the country in a phased manner," he told Business Standard.

SBH on Wednesday opened its 1,000th branch in Hyderabad, which was inaugurated by 78-year-old Hari Shankar, its oldest customer in the city who holds an account with the bank since 1965.

Stating that SBH's entire branch network had been brought under the core banking solutions (CBS) umbrella, Guha said the bank would expand its branch and ATM networks next fiscal. "We will be adding 50 more branches next fiscal. Our customers currently have access to 510 ATMs of the bank, which is expected to increase by another 250 during the year," he said.

Given the changing market dynamics at low interest rates among others, SBH is expected to end the current fiscal with a business of Rs 88,000 crore, with 27 per cent and 20 per cent growth in advances and deposits respectively. "We are, however, hopeful of reaching the scheduled target of Rs 1 lakh crore next year," he said.

The gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank is expected to be at 1 per cent of gross advances by the end of March 31, 2008, and net NPA at 0.20 per cent of net advances.