Hyderabad: Bangalore-based Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Wednesday announced to open 27 more branches across the country, including in North states, by March end this year, as part of its business expansion in India.
Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali, graced the occasion and inaugurated the first branch at Madhapur in the city.
Talking to reporters after opening four branches in and around Hyderabad, Bank CEO and Managing Director Ittira Davis said with the opening of new branch, the bank now has 598 branches in 25 states and union territories and catering to more than 71 lakh customers in the country.
Currently, the bank’s manpower was 17,000 and depending on the requirement, we will hire the employees, he informed.
We are also planning to enter Andhra Pradesh by next year, Davis said the bank offers the most competitive interest rates in the market, with 7.5 per cent on savings accounts, 8.75 per cent on fixed deposits for senior citizens and 8 per cent for regular customers for 560 days.
With the opening of these four new branches, we intend to build a diversified portfolio of secured and unsecured loans while mobilising retail deposits through our branch network, the bank CEO said that we are committed to advancing financial and digital inclusion through our ongoing branch network expansion.
As on September, 2022, the bank’s gross NPA was 3.3 per cent and Net NPA was 0.04 per cent, he said the collection efficiency was maintained at 99+%, with the restructured NPA book showing healthy collections, he claimed.
The bank has witnessed a business turnaround with its profitable last two quarters which was Rs 497 crore while in the quarter that ended December 2022, the total deposits of the bank increased by 9 per cent Y-o-Y, driven by strong momentum in the retail deposit, which grew 72 per cent Y-o-Y, Davis said.
He said the bank expected to get profit this year against loss in the previous year..
The bank witnessed a 33 per cent Y-o-Y in the gross loan book, with disbursement sustaining above Rs 4,800 crore, the MD said.
The Bank also offers a range of business loans for Micro and Small Enterprises between INR 10 Lakh and INR 10 Crore, as well as Affordable Housing Loans between INR 5 Lakh and INR 75 Lakh. These loans are designed to assist individuals and businesses in achieving their financial objectives, such as business expansion and for purchase and construction of their dream homes, he informed.
We are planning to offer finance on tractors and gold loans by next financial year, Davis added.
Speaking on the occasion, Bank Chairman B A Prabhakar, said “Our presence in Telangana reinforces our commitment to becoming the preferred bank for the mass market.
