Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd

Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd

Dhanalakshmi Bank was incorporated on 14th November 1927 by a group of enterprising entrepreneurs at Thrissur the cultural capital of Kerala with a Capital of Rs.11000/- and had only 7 employees. It became a Scheduled Commercial Bank in the year 1977. It has today attained national stature with 181 branches and 26 Extension Counters spread over the States of Kerala Tamil Nadu Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Gujarat Delhi and West Bengal. The Bank serviced a business of Rs. 4223 crores as on 31.03.06 comprising deposits of Rs.2533 crores and advances of Rs.1690 crores. As at the end of March 2006 the Capital Adequacy Ratio of the Bank was 9.75% well above the mandatory requirement of 9%. The Bank made a net profit of Rs.9.51 crores for the year ended 31st March 2006. Between 1927 to 1937 its services were localised in Thrissur. In 1937 it extended its service to Ernakulam and Palghat by opening branches there.By 1947 DBL's deposits generated stood at Rs 31 lac. In 1962 it took over three banks -- Lakshmi Prasad Bank Radhakrishna Bank and Parli Bank. Subsequently it further expanded its network throughout Kerala and then in Tamilnadu Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in 1978. With this DBL's operations covered the entire southern India apart from its strong presence in Kerala.The period covering 1985-90 saw the bank opening up its first branch outside southern India in Bombay. It started dealing in other segments of banking such as bills discounting letter of credit etc. Two prominent religious trusts -- Sabarimala and Guruvayoor Devasom Board are among its host of clients. In 1993 the bank obtained restricted foreign exchange licence to maintain rupee accounts of non-residents. DBL also ventured into new areas such as consumer banking corporate banking and merchant banking.In Mar.'96 DBL came out with a public issue of 80 lac equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium of Rs 40 per share aggregating Rs 40 cr to strengthen the capital base for meeting statutory capital adequacy norms and to obtain the listing of shares on the stock exchanges. There was a restructure of the capital of the bank during 2000-01 by conversion of partly paid shares to fully paid shares on a pro-rata basis.This has resulted in the reduction of subscribed and paid up capital of the bank from Rs.14.66 crores to Rs.13.74 crores. The reduction of Rs.0.92 crores representing premium was transferred to Share Premium Account.To Comply with the stipulation of RBI to increase the networth to a minimum of Rs.100 croresDBL went for a Right Issue of capital to the tune of Rs.274750500 (18316700 equity shares of Rs.10/- at a premium of Rs.5). The ratio for the rights issue were 4 equity shares for every 3 shares held and the issue were oversubscribed.The Bank is techno savvy and has deployed technology widely as an instrument for enhancing the quality of customer service. It has introduced Centralised Banking Solution (CBS) on the Flexcube Platform for extending Anywhere/Anytime banking to its clientele through multiple delivery channels. The Bank has deployed CBS in 150 branches covering nearly 95% of total business. The Bank has set-up a state-of-the-art DATA CENTRE in Bangalore to keep the networked system operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The Bank lays stress on customizing services and personalizing relations. It has introduced in November 2005 an International Debit Card with tie-up with M/s Visa International. In another customer-friendly move the Bank has joined CASHNET the first independent nation-wide shared ATM network in India and the National Financial Switch (ATM network) of the IDRBT promoted by Reserve Bank of India. By joining Cashnet and NFS our customers have been provided access to more than 14000 ATMs in the country. The Bank has installed 63 networked ATMs thus far at centres of high banking activity. The Bank has introduced tele-banking in 50 branches and Internet banking in 84 branches. It has also put in place a Cash Management System (CMS) that provides speedier cheque collection through 59 branches. The Bank has put in place Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System to facilitate large value inter-bank payments and settlements in real time on-line mode on a transaction-by-transaction basis. It is in the process of extending RTGS to customer transactions. The Bank has ventured into both life and non-life insurance. It is selling life insurance products of M/s. MetLife India a renowned global player in this segment and non-life insurance products of M/s. Iffco Tokio as their corporate agent. The Bank is also a depository participant of NSDL (National Security Depository Limited) offering Demat services through selected branches. With a view to making available value-added services to the NRIs the Bank has set up NRI Boutiques (Relationship Centres) at 8 locations in the State of Kerala. The Bank has also plans to open specialized NRI branches with accent on quality of service and thrust on specialisation at potential locations. As at the end of March 2006 the Bank had rupee drawing arrangements with 7 Exchange Houses in the Middle East. The Bank's Industrial Finance Branch at Kochi and Corporate Office Trichur have been accredited with certification under ISO 9001-2000. On the socio-economic front the Bank is a leading player in dispensation of Micro Credit among Kerala-based Private Sector Banks. As at the end of March 2006 the outstandings under micro credit were Rs.55.63 crores. This involvement is part of the Bank's objective to act as catalysts for the economic prosperity of the country. The Bank has recognized micro finance intervention as an effective tool for poverty alleviation and has streamlined the linkage between the Bank and Self Help Groups through 100 branches. The Priority sector advances of the Bank as at 31st March 2006 constituting 43.84% of net bank credit well above the RBI benchmark of 40%.