Corporation Bank is holding discussions with Allahabad Bank and Dena Bank to enter into an arrangement to share its ATM network.
It is also holding negotiations with a couple of private sector banks which are likely to materialise shortly.
This was revealed here by K Cherian Varghese, chairman and managing director of Corporation Bank at a press conference here. The bank at present shares its ATM network with Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karnataka Bank and Bank of Rajasthan.
It currently has a three hundred ATM network across the country and is planning to increase the number of ATMs to 500 by March 2003.
Among the public sector banks, it has the second largest network of online interconnected ATMs. The bank has also received corporate agency from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). We trained about 63 officers as part of our insurance distribution plans.
These officers have also passed the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (Irda) prescribed test, Varghese said. In fact, we sold our first insurance policy on December 20, he added.
Our service outlet network has crossed the 1000 mark recently, of which about 101 outlets are located in Andhra Pradesh. With about 92 per cent of our business being handled by computerised branches, we introduced Internet banking facility at 351 branches, Verghese said.
When asked whether LIC is likely to further increase its stake in Corporation Bank, Varghese said since the insurance major has already reached 27 per cent level in the equity of the bank, which is just below the 30 per cent level prescribed by Irda, it is unlikely to increase the stake further.
It can be recalled that LIC has picked up a 27 per cent stake last year by infusing Rs 460 crore funds into the bank. It paid a price of Rs 196 per share against the then market price of Rs 131. The synergies between LIC and ourselves started paying dividends.
We have already opened 24 extension counters at different LIC branch premises and planning to increase it to 100 counters in the next 12 months, Varghese said.
