UBI eyes Rs 300 cr biz

Union Bank of India (UBI), is eyeing a Rs 300 crore business from Gujarat during 2008-09.

T K Sharma, GM, UBI, Gujarat circle, told Business Standard, "We are planning to generate Rs 300 crore from Sachin, Mundra Port, Dahej and Vapi GIDC in 2008-09." He added that the bank has identified these industrial areas as areas of focus in Gujarat.

The bank will set up one branch each at Sachin, Mundra Port, Dahej and Vapi. "We do not have a presence in Sachin, Mundra Port and Dahej." This will be the first time the UBI will enter these regions. With an operational branch at Vapi, it would add another branch at Vapi GIDC, a booming industrial zone in the southern part of Gujarat.

The bank will target the SME and corporate sectors in this industrial region and rope in new corporate accounts. Presently, the bank has over 150 corporate clients in Gujarat. "We expect to open the branches by November in these industrial areas," adds Sharma.

The bank expects to get a licence for the branches by August.

At the retail business front, the bank had tied up with three private agencies to outsource it's central processing center (CPC) work. The outsourced work includes of verification and processing of documents and post dated cheques that are related to the retail banking business.

However, the entire work of the private agencies will be managed and monitored by the branches of UBI. The current outsourcing will be of its Ahmedabad's CPC.

The bank also plans to come up with a CPC unit exclusively for SME sectors before the close of first half of the present fiscal.

The bank is also planning to set up an asset reconstruction branch in Ahmedabad which will be operational by June this year. The bank will open 12 branches and 50 ATMs in Gujarat.

The bank will also begin its second regional office for which it has received licence from RBI. It will soon start its B category foreign exchange branch in Ahmedabad.

The total business generated by UBI was Rs 6,765 crore from its Gujarat compared to Rs 5,579 crore in previous year. The deposit were Rs 4,364 crore and advances were Rs 2,401 crore for the FY '06-'07.