Punjab National Bank will bring all the rural branches under Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform by the end of this financial year.
“Most branches have already been brought under the CBS platform in UP and by the end of March 2010, we are confident of interconnecting all the branches,” PNB general manager (UP and Uttarakhand) Rohtash Kumar said at a conference call here this evening.
Besides, the bank will also open 67 more branches in UP by March 2010, especially in the un-served areas.
As per a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive, banks do not have to seek RBI’s prior approval for opening new branches in towns with population of less than 50,000. This is aimed at boosting financial inclusion and providing banking services in the unorganised sector of the country.
Meanwhile, the bank is focusing on the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), education and reverse mortgage loans to shore up its business volume.
“Between April and December 2009, our SME advances in UP stood at Rs 3,518 crore and had already breached our target for the period,” he added.Kumar informed that the repayment by SME borrowers was on schedule.