State Bank of India opened three more branches in the city on Monday — one each at Arilova, Venkojipalem and Lawson's Bay Colony. The branches were inaugurated by Mr T.S. Krishnaswamy, General Manager.

At a press meet prior to the inauguration, he said the number of branches in Visakhapatnam district had crossed the hundred mark with three branches and sixty in the city. “We have at present 1,260 branches in Andhra Pradesh, with the business volume being Rs 1,30,000 crore. We have a C:D ratio of 125 per cent and 38 per cent of the credit has gone to the farm sector. We will increase the number of branches in the State to 1,300 by the end of the financial year,” Mr Krishnaswamy said.

He said the three branches opened in the city on Monday would be included in the Super Circle of Excellence region in Visakhapatnam region consisting of 24 branches with a business volume of Rs 1,650 crore, the deposits being Rs 1,000 crore and the rest being advances.

The business volume would rise to Rs 2,000 crore by the end of March in these branches. He said the Super Circle region had been introduced to serve the customers better and to face competition from the private and multinational banks.

He said a scheme called Gruha Gamya had been launched in the main branch here. The details of 30 or so major housing projects in the city would be available there and customers of the bank as well as others could access the data. They can obtain housing loans from the SBI or other banks. “We have launched the scheme two or three months ago. Our bank has got housing loan applications worth Rs 5 crore during the period. Other banks must have also benefited. We have introduced it for the convenience of the public,” he said.

SBI Express

He said a mobile publicity van christened SBI Express had been flagged off on Monday with all the publicity material. It would move around the city for two weeks or so and the marketing staff of the bank would explain to the public in different areas about the services and products of the bank.

They would take applications for loans and opening new accounts. But, he clarified, it was not a mobile bank and prospective customers would have to transact their business through one of the branches. “It is intended only to spread awareness about the bank,” he said.

In response to a question on mobile ATMs, he said one such ATM had been introduced in Goa, but it was not found workable, as there was a satellite connectivity problem. Besides, he said, there were so many ATMs of SBI in different areas that the customer would experience no difficulty.

He said the bank would open a Kohinoor branch of SBI in the city by January or so for high net-worth individuals. There was one such branch in Hyderabad and the next one would be set up here. As a prelude to opening the branch, a Kohinoor club would be set up here with such individuals.

Mr Krishnaswamy said the SBI, the lead bank in the district, was planning to set up a credit counselling centre in the rural area of the district for the benefit of the public, but the district administration should provide the site.

Mr Vidya Sagar, Regional Manager, and Mr D.S Purohit, in-charge of the branches in the three north-coastal districts, also spoke.

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