Canara Bank proposes to strengthen and expand its presence in Kerala to boost business from Rs 22,600 crore to Rs 30,000 crore during this year.

Stating this here, Ms Archana Bhargava, Executive Director, said the bank, which already has 308 branches, plans to open 30 more, including specialised SME (small and medium enterprises) branches and ‘retail asset hubs.'

MICRO-FINANCE BRANCH

During 2010-11, the bank opened 28 new branches in the State. These also include a specialised micro-finance branch in Thiruvananthapuram and an SME branch in Ernakulam.

The bank also proposes to add 100 ATMs to the existing network of 197, with a view to raising consumer convenience levels to a new high, Ms Bhargava said.

Recently, the bank, which is also Convenor to the State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC), introduced a new concept by opening a ‘locker plaza' in Thiruvananthapuram.

Equipped with all modern facilities and situated at the first floor of the bank's circle office here, the ‘plaza' has been set up to meet the incremental demand for the facility from customers. Two more such plazas would be opened at Ernakulam and Alappuzha, Ms Bhargava said.

EMPLOYMENT TRAINING

Dwelling on some of the corporate social responsibility activities, she made special reference to a number of Canara Bank Institutes of Information Technology (CBIITs) and Rural Development and Self-Employment Training Institutes (R-SETIs) in the State.

The bank has four R-SETIs in the State at Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode and two CBIITs at Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram.

The CBIITs have been set up with the aim of imparting training to the unemployed youth of Thiruvananthapuram and nearby districts in the field of information technology.

The training is offered free of cost in computer packages with emphasis on self-employment or career employment in IT.

MEANINGFUL INCOME

At least 11,000 youth have been trained in these institutes so far, with most of them managing to find their way into avenues of meaningful revenue/income, Ms Bhargava said.

The bank has also been giving focused attention to developing entrepreneurial skills among women for setting up self-employment ventures. The Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) for Women has been functioning from the Circle Office in Thiruvananthapuram.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

At least 671 women members have been benefited from the CED during the last year, of which, more than 500 have already set up successful self-employment ventures.

As part of the financial inclusion drive, the bank has set up 12 Financial Literacy and Credit Counselling Centres (FLCCs) in the State so far.

An estimated 1.7 lakh no-frills accounts have been opened and more than 1,500 smart cards issued in the rural areas of the State.