)
Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the first women's bank in India and a wholly-owned government institution, today opened a branch here, its 20th in the country.
Inaugurating the branch, its Chairperson Usha Ananthasubramanian said the bank will cater to the needs of women and offer the entire gamut of banking and financial services.
"The access to finance and banking not only helps empower women but also broadens the social base of development, thus fostering equitable growth. It will cater to every segment of women from self-help groups to lower middle class women to high net worth individuals with the basket of various products to ensure inclusive and sustainable growth", she said.
At present, the bank is offering an interest rate of 5 per cent on Savings Bank account with a balance of Rs 1 lakh and above, and for an amount less than Rs 1 lakh, the interest rate is 4.5 per cent. Educational loan, beauty parlour loan, loan to establish catering units, apart from the normal banking loan products such as vehicle loan, home loan are some of the other credit products that have been designed for the benefit of women. The bank has also tied-up with New India Assurance Co Ltd for providing general insurance products to cater to the needs of women at the bottom of the pyramid, working women and also for their family as a whole.
At present, the bank has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Indore and Chandigarh. The bank's first branch in the north-east was set up in Guwahati last November.
