Syndicate Bank net profit rises 25%

Syndicate Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 305 crore for the nine months ended December 31, 2003, up 25 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

The domestic deposits for the 9-month period increased by 24.29 per cent on a year-on-year basis, to touch Rs 34,343 crore.

Savings bank deposits account level clocked Rs 9,951 crore, a growth of 22 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

The domestic advance of the bank has registered an all time high growth of 21.68 per cent over December 2002 level of Rs 13,274 crore. Retail portfolio constitutes for nearly 30 per cent of these advances.

The net NPA ratio has come down to 4.55 per cent from 6.07 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

The capital adequacy ratio of the bank is at 11.71 per cent compared with 11.03 per cent as on March 2003. The bank's return on assets has increased to 1.82 per cent from 1.34 per cent.

The EPS has increased to Rs 8.61 from Rs 6.84 in December 2002, an increase of 26 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The profit per employee has also increased to Rs 1.15 lakh from Rs 0.90 lakh.

The global business of the bank touched Rs 55,038 crore as on December 31 , 2003. This is a 23.47 per cent increase when compared to the corresponding period last year.

The bank also planned to tap the market to raise a tier-II capital of Rs 100 crore with a green shoe option of Rs 25 crore this year.

Syndicate Bank will offer some 10 per cent of its 27,000-member workforce, a quarter of their "take-home" pay and a chance to distribute its life insurance products and earn incentives, instead of a straightforward voluntary retirement scheme.

Announcing the results for the 9-month period ended December 31, 2003, Michael Bastian, chairman and managing director, Syndicate Bank, said that the bank hoped to save some Rs 50 crore on operating expenses, this way.

"We are not going for a VRS this year", he said. "Instead, the target group of employees, to be selected by the bank based on applications, could opt for this 'special leave scheme', for 2-4 years."

Syndicate Bank has distributed some 2,800 life insurance policies since October last, when it tied-up with insurance company Alliance Bajaj.