Corporation Bank to widen network

Century-old bank to add 300 branches by 2013.

Mangalore-based Corporation Bank is undertaking a domestic expansion that will see it add 300 branches throughout India from 2012-13. The bank currently has over 1,500 branches, 1,274 ATMs and 3,390 branchless banking units. It has also opened 14 SME loan centres to cater exclusively to small and medium enterprises.

The public-sector bank has sought approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to upgrade its overseas offices. Corporation Bank does not operate a single foreign branch.

“We have filed application with the RBI seeking license to upgrade our representative offices in Dubai and Hong Kong into full-fledged branches. We wish to convert them into branches as early as possible,” said Ashwani Kumar, Executive Director.

The upgrade to branches is necessary since representative office cannot accept deposits and extend loans. The representative offices act as agents of the bank and route the business to home branches in India. They can source business and market the bank’s various services to customers in these two countries.