Punjab & Sind Bank to branch out

MUMBAI, NOV 20; Punjab & Sind Bank, which has sucessfully introduced an innovative scheme Kheti Udyog Khazana Yojana' in Punjab plan...

MUMBAI, NOV 20; Punjab & Sind Bank, which has sucessfully introduced an innovative scheme Kheti Udyog Khazana Yojana’ in Punjab plans to extend this scheme in other states also with cooperation of state governments. This scheme provides a single window pass book service to farmers to meet their composite credit needs including finance for urgent domestic requirements.

To further assist the farmers, bank has dispensed with the costly tractor insurance policy. “New tractors are required to be insured for only third party risks and thefts by the farmers contributing Rs 200 each year in the tractor welfare fund. The bank compensates the farmers up to 50 per cent of their losses due to accidents etc provided the amount of loss assessed by approved surveyor exceeds Rs 10,000. Thus, the farmers save almost Rs 1,500 annually on insurance premium,” said S S Kohli, chairman and managing director of the bank.

With a view to promoting cultural harmony and adding a new dimension to the image of bankers, the bankhas organised a grand cultural show performed by the bank’s employees for the first time in Mumbai on Saturday.

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The PSB Zimidara credit card of the bank which was launched recently — another step forward in empowering the farmers with negotiating edge — while purchasing various inputs for their farming activities, saves them from the high open market interest rates charged by the money lenders.

The bank has played a significant role in the economic development of the country. In the last three years, the bank has been put on fast recovery track under the leadership of its present chairman Kohli, who has been able to achieve this remarkable turnaround and has set ambitious targets for the coming years for the overall growth of the bank.

The bank has shown an operating profit of Rs 51.57 crore for the half year ended September 1999 against Rs 48.71 crore for the corresponding period in last year. The net profit of the bank stood at Rs 31.22 crore. The bank has been able to improve its profitabilitydespite the decline in PLR from 13.5 per cent last year to 12.75 per cent at present. The capital adequacy ratio has also jumped from 10.94 per cent as on September 1998 to 12.30 per cent as on September 1999.

The bank has 726 branches and 129 extension counters all over the country. It has also started nine international banking divisions. The bank has a workforce of more than 12,000 employees. “In line with spirit of liberalisation, the bank has laid special stress on international banking services, merchant banking, hire purchase and leasing, telebanking and credit card. The bank has started a rural development division, high-tech agricultural branches, specialised locker branches, industrial and finance and SSI branches and housing finance branch,” Kohli said.

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The bank has been able to obtain a licence from the RBI for handling bullion business and the bank is planning to enter bullion business during the current financial year.