Uco Bank'S Guntur Branch Bucks The Trend

Amongst the loss making offshoots of the ailing United Commercial (Uco) Bank, the only bright spot is the bank's Guntur branch in Andhra Pradesh. This 365-day branch, opened on December 9, 1965, far surpasses all the other branches in terms of profitability, productivity, efficiency and other performance parameters. The branch's deposits have gone up from Rs 4 lakh in 1966 to Rs 42.50 crore as on March 31, 1997. Its advances have gone up even more remarkably, from Rs 2 lakh in 1966 to over Rs 98 crore at the end of 1997.

The bank's profitability, with its staff strength unchanged for the last three years at 33, has risen from a loss of Rs 1 lakh in 1966 to a profit of Rs 3.93 crore in fiscal 1995, Rs 8.05 crore in 1996 and to over Rs 16 crore in fiscal 1997. The per employee business of the Guntur branch is also very high at Rs 500 lakh. This presents a strong contrast with the rest of the Uco branches and with the branches of other public sector banks in the district.

 

The Guntur branch's performance is also far superior to that of the corresponding branches of other public sector banks. The branch derives its primary business from export credit which accounts for 71 per cent or Rs 69.98 crore of the total credit disbursed by this branch.