Dena Bank to open office in London this month

State-owned Dena Bank plans to open its first overseas office in London by the end of this month.

"We have got approval from RBI and government for opening a representative office in London. The UK regulatory authority has also given informal permission," Dena Bank executive director Ashok Dutt told PTI.

It will be inaugurated by end of this month, he said, adding the bank intends to make it a full service branch in another one year.

The bank also intends to open branches in Hong Kong, Nairobi and Johannesburg.

Slowdown in economy has compelled the bank to lower its loan growth target to 15-16% from the earlier estimate of 18%.

The demand from corporates has been low, he said, adding that the bank is expecting pick-up in demand from retail, agriculture and export segments.

In 2012-13, it had witnessed 16.27% growth in credit to Rs 66,456.88 crore, as against Rs 57,159.20 crore outstanding at the end of March 2012.

For the second quarter ended September, 2013-14, the bank reported 55.19% decline in net profit at Rs 107.38 crore, on account of higher provisions.

The bank's provisions increased to Rs 266 crore during Q2, 2013-14.