BoI Vizag aims to trim NPAs to 3.03% this fiscal

The Bank of India (BoI) Visakhapatnam zone is targeting to downsize its NPA levels to 3.03 per cent by the end of the current fiscal. The bank's NPA hovered around 8.21 per cent by the end of March 31, 2005.

"Visakhapatnam zone's NPA levels were 17.01 per cent as on March 31, 2003. The bank managed to reduce it to 8.21 per cent by March 2005. Now, we are targeting to reduce it further to 3.03 per cent by the end of current fiscal," Kolar Subramanyam, zonal manager, BoI Visakhapatnam zone, told Business Standard.

Of the Rs 109.01 crore NPAs that the zone had by the end of March 2004, it managed to collect an all-time high of Rs 26.71 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005. And because of this, eight branches of the total 45 branches in the zone achieved nil NPA status, he added.

"Under the Sarfaesi Act, the Vizag zone issued notices to 266 accounts involving realisable dues to the tune of Rs 74.17 crore, and recovered close to Rs 10.92 crore. This fiscal, we plan to reduce our NPAs to the extent of Rs 40 crore. Attaining nil NPA status for 21 branches by the end of March 2006 too is on our agenda," Subramanyam said.

BoI Vizag zone posted a net profit of Rs 38.55 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005, as compared to 34.38 crore in 2003-04, reflecting a growth of around 12 per cent.

"Our bottomline increased due to the increase in low-cost deposits and the reduction in NPA levels," Subramanyam said.

The aggregate deposits of the zone grew by 9.6 per cent to reach Rs 441.17 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2005, while the low-cost deposits grew by Rs 20.46 crore to reach Rs 165.02 crore.

"The percentage of low cost deposits stood at 37.41 per cent in 2004-05, as compared to 35.91 per cent in the previous year. In the current fiscal, we plan to increase our deposits by another Rs 80 crore, 50 per cent of which will be from low-cost and no-cost deposits ie, savings and current account deposits," Subramanyam said.

BoI's Vizag zone has achieved a significant growth in the lending division too.

In 2004-05, the zone's total credit grew by 30.16 per cent to reach Rs 650.29 crore, an increase of Rs 150.67 crore over March 2004, while the retail credit has gone up by Rs 78 crore to reach Rs 272.05 crore.