Manipal-headquartered public sector lender Syndicate Bank has formed a trust jointly with another public sector bank, Vijaya Bank to promote financial literacy and opened four financial literacy and credit counselling centres in Karnataka. The bank has been given a target to cover 1,620 villages having a population of over 2,000 by March 2012 and also to cover 3,270 villages having a population of less than 2,000 by March 2013.
Syndicate Bank has already opened 24 branches in the villages allotted under financial inclusion in the last 24 days. The bank has also selected 723 business correspondents to cover the remaining 726 villages. Thus, 750 villages will be covered by the bank either through branch or by business correspondents before March 2011, the bank said in a statement.
The bank has started opening no-frill accounts and so far opened over 335,000 accounts in these villages. The bank has trained branch managers and nodal officers by organising six awareness programmes to improve the effectiveness of the delivery system.
To bridge the credit gaps in the financial inclusion villages where branches were opened, the bank has designed three new products — FI-RD, FI-KCC and FI-GCC. Besides, the bank has also provided an inbuilt overdraft facility for all no-frills accounts opened in financial inclusion villages.
The bank is also extending micro insurance benefit to customers with a very nominal premium to cover any eventuality in these villages.
Syndicate Bank has major network in two states — Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (AP). In Karnataka, the bank has started issuing smart cards and has covered 176 villages by issuing 12,468 smart cards and so far made payments to SSP and NREGA beneficiaries, numbering about 8.28 million.
In AP, the bank has attempted a pilot through a voice-based mobile technology in Anantpur and Kurnool district.
Under the urban financial inclusion, the bank is implementing a pilot project in two centres in Bangalore by issuing smart cards.
Home loans
Syndicate Bank has increased the interest rate for term deposits of one year to less than two years to 8.20 per cent, two years to less than three years to 8.25 per cent and three years to less than five years to 8.50 per cent. The senior citizens will earn 0.50 per cent extra over and above the normal rates, the bank statement added.
