Mahila Bank eyes Rs 800 cr loan book this fiscal

The country's first all-women bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) today said it has set a deposit target of Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 800 crore for lending for the current fiscal.
"We have set a target of Rs 1,000 crore of deposits and Rs 800 crore of advances for this fiscal," Bank chairman and managing director Usha Ananthasubramanian told reporters after inaugurating its second branch in Thane, Maharashtra.
The bank, set up in November last year, has grossed up a business of about Rs 600 crore so far.
"As a start-up bank you can't achieve magic numbers. You have to establish the brand, you have to compete with brands which are 20 to 200 years old and we are latest in that. Our network is very thin so it takes people to realise that there is a bank," Ananthasubramanian said.

The bank is looking at taking its branch network to 80 by the end of March, which will include 20 rural branches.
"Rural branches will be open in around two months time. We are looking at having two to three rural branches in a cluster as there is no point in opening a rural branch," she said.

Last month, the bank opened branches in Kanpur, Agra, Dholpur, Kochi, Gurgaon and Panchkula, and will now be looking at tier II to VI cities. All the branches of the bank has an ATM and it will soon roll out off site ATMs.

Ananthasubramanian said the bank is well capitalised and is not looking for any fund infusion from the government this year.
"We have not sought anything. The Rs 1000-crore which we got from the government is good enough to take care," she said, adding that funds will be required as and when the bank expands.
The bank has around 70,000 customers which also includes around 36,000 accounts it has opened under the Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojna.
The bank is also planning to increase its employee strength to around 600 from current 250-275, by end March.