State Bank of Mysore plans to open 100 more branches

Public sector lender State Bank of Mysore (SBM) is embarking on network expansion in South India, where it wants to add 90-100 branches by December 2015 to extend its reach into remote areas, a top bank official said on Wednesday.

State Bank of Mysore Managing Director Sharad Sharma said, “We propose to open 90-100 branches by 2015 end, focussing primarily on Karnataka. A minor share of this growth will be in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.”

With 820 branches in Karnataka out of a 1,000 branches nationwide, and 140 in Bengaluru, the bank aims to reach into deeper pockets of Karnataka. SBM is currently banker to the government of Karnataka and 75 per cent of government transactions on projects like NREGA is handled through SBM.

On employment generation, Sharma said, “We have recruited 800 clerks this year. And next year, we intend to recruit 700 officers. The bank’s total staff strength as of today is close to 10,500 people.”

SBM recently raised Rs 500 crore by way of Tier II capital through a bond offering. “The Basel III compliant Tier II bonds issued by State Bank of Mysore, carrying a coupon rate of 8.55 per cent per annum, has been fully subscribed at Rs 500 crore.

The issue was opened and closed on December 17,” the bank said. “Times have been very difficult, especially in corporate credit... so, our bank is trying to shift towards the retail side. In March 2012, we had 730 branches and within a three-year period, particularly last year, we opened 270 branches. On Tuesday, the bank opened its 1,000th branch in Mysuru,” Sharma said.

To ensure speedy loans to MSMEs the banks has opened 21 special branches in Karnataka, Sharma said.

“We have the NPA problem which persists, and is more on a relative basis. NPAs are much more severe on the corporate side of things. Corporates are becoming hesitant to make big ticket investments,” Sharma explained.

The bank had reported a 240 per cent rise in net profit for the July-September quarter on higher interest income, lower provisioning and better recovery from written off accounts.