Improving low-cost deposit mobilisation focus area for bank: Canara Bank MD

Improving CASA or low-cost deposit mobilisation is the focus area for the Canara Bank, and efforts taken in the direction are yielding results, its Managing Director K Satyanarayana Raju has said.

"Current Account Savings Account (CASA) stood at 31 per cent of the total deposits, and the aim is to increase to 33 per cent by the end of the current fiscal," he told PTI.

Rapid growth cannot be expected on the current account side, and it is another challenge to keep them for the long term as businesses tend to move them to term deposits quickly, he said.

On the savings side, he said, "Our initiatives have started giving the results. You can see the accumulation and creation of the deposits. From year-on-year basis, June to June, if you see, there is an improvement of Rs 12,000 crore".

The focus of the bank will continue on savings bank individual deposits by introducing unique and innovative products, he added.

On business growth, he said the bank has given a target of 10 per cent for the current financial year, against which there was a growth of 11 per cent in the first quarter that ended June.

Credit growth has been pegged at 10 per cent, he said.

"I am very much confident that we will grow beyond the 11-12 per cent growth in the next three quarters."

The bank expects gross NPA to be around 3.5 per cent, while the net NPA of 1.10 per cent of the total advances by the end of the current financial year.

For the first quarter ended June, state-owned Canara Bank posted a 10 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 3,905 crore against Rs 3,535 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, the bank's total income increased to Rs 34,020 crore from Rs 29,823 crore a year ago. Interest income grew to Rs 28,701 crore during the period under review compared to Rs 25,004 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.