Mahabank plans separate credit cell to boost retail business

Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has taken the plunge in the booming retail banking business.

The Pune-based bank has created a separate department of retail credit and appointed one of its senior officials, Vinod N Dalvi, as general manager in-charge of retail credit.

The bank plans to increase the share of retail credit to 21 per cent of total advances by the end of 2006-07 from 13 per cent at the end of March 2006. BoM's total advances as on March 31, 2006, stood at Rs 16,469.72 crore.

The bank is also making efforts to increase focus on fee-based services, and as part of the plan, will soon start selling mutual fund products.

The bank is in talks with "three leading mutual funds" for distribution of their products, Chairman M D Mallya said.

BoM has already started distributing life insurance policies of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and general insurance products of United India Insurance Company. The bank also expects these initiatives to support its efforts at expanding its retail credit business.

Mallya said the bank has identified 38 centres in regions and locations where it has a less significant presence and these areas would get preference in the bank's branch expansion plans.

The bank plans to computerise its entire branch network, including rural branches, by the end of the year.

The bank is on course to implement core banking solution (CBS) and 100 key branches will be brought in the ambit of core banking by the end of the year 2006-07, Mallya said, adding that the solution would be made partially operational by November.