BoI to have 1200 branches under core banking by March

Bank of India aims to bring 1,200 of its branches under the core banking solution fold by March 2005. The bank also sees 20 per cent jump in its overseas business by year-end.

Bank of India currently has networked 750 branches on the core banking solution and is set to bring another 450 branches under it, said M Venugopalan, chairman & managing director, Bank of India at a press conference held here today. The bank today enabled bill payments and insurance premium payments at its ATMs.

The bank spends Rs 75 crore every year on technology. "We expect the technology spends to fall to Rs 30-40 crore in eight years time. The spends have fallen from the highs of Rs 100-120 crore," said Venugopalan.

The bank entered into a Rs 550 crore ten year contract with HP to implement Infosys' Finacle across the bank's network over nine months back.

The bank has completed 100 per cent computerisation of its branches. It has innovatively used solar panels to generate power to run computers in four rural branches where infrastructure was a major obstacle, explained bank officials.

On a second public issue, the chairman said the bank would tap the capital markets only in the next fiscal. Post the issue, the government's holding in Bank of India will fall from 69 per cent to 57 per cent.

The bank has got board approval to raise Rs 100 crore through a follow on issue. Several other banks like Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank among others are planning their second public issues in this fiscal.

The bank expects to grow its overseas business by 20 per cent and profits by 12 per cent by year end. The public sector bank is setting up offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Shenzhen and Beijing in China and in Tanzania.