Bank of Baroda expects 20% rise in net profit in 2009-10

Bank of Baroda, which has become the third-largest public sector lender surpassing Canara Bank, expects about 20 per cent increase in its net profit during the current fiscal.     

"It should be about 20 per cent (growth in the net profit during 2009-10)," Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director M D Mallya told PTI.      

However, for the financial year ended March, 2009, the bank reported a whopping 55.15 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 2,227.20 crore compared to Rs 1,435.52 crore in the year-ago period.      

At the same time, the total business of the bank stood at Rs 3,36,383 crore at the end of fiscal 2008-09 against Rs 2,58,735 crore in the previous fiscal.     

BoB aims 23-25 per cent growth in its business in FY'10, with its core fee-income expected to expand by 25 per cent during the fiscal year, he said.      

So, the total business of the bank is expected to cross Rs four lakh crore mark to Rs 4,14,000-4,20,000 crore in 2009-10.      

In a bid to expand its global reach, BoB is planning to open about 10 foreign branches in the current fiscal.      

At present, the bank with the largest overseas presence, has about 74 offices spread across 25 countries.