Centurion to shed auto skin

Mumbai: Centurion Depository Financial Institution of Punjab is trying to change its mental image of a depository financial institution whose primary funding is in the car sector.

After two mergers, the depository financial institution is now looking to change gearing and addition its footmark in other countries of retail banking.

"It is true that we are considered a depository financial institution mostly connected with car and I can't deny that our bequest have been driven by auto. But that is more than of a bequest issue. We are in the procedure of adding new characteristics to our retail concern like mobile money transfer, cyberspace banking etc," said Vivek Vig, state head, CBoP.

Vig said that the sum share of car loans in the bank's portfolio is 10% currently.

The depository financial institution will also effort to better its recollection value among the public in the adjacent couple calendar months to fit the degrees by its larger private sector rivals, Vig said.

Vig admitted the depository financial institution was earlier giving "extra" attending to the car segment, but said that in the last three-and-a-half years, particularly after the amalgamation with Depository Financial Institution of Punjab, it have also increased attending to little and medium endeavors (SME).

"We have got an sole joint venture with Fullerton for underwriting their SME loans. We have got also seen a 100% growing in our agribusiness lending, though it is on a low base," Vig said.

Besides SME and agriculture, CBoP is also betting large on the self-employed segment, the loan against place marketplace and NRI services, particularly in the Center East.

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The depository financial institution have also started an plus Reconstruction company called IARC, together with the existent estate direction and consultative company Cerma.

Vig said the depository financial institution will go on to be retail driven. "We have got permission to revolve out 30 subdivisions by October this year, including 6 in Punjab by March," he said.

CBoP is a mostly North India-based depository financial institution and keeps a sizeable presence in Punjab, Haryana and North Rajasthan. But the Modesty Bank's blessing last August to the bank's amalgamation with Kerala-based Godhead Krishna Depository Financial Institution (LKB) have also given it 110 subdivisions in the South.

In fact, the depository financial institution have grown from 60 subdivisions to more than than 400 subdivisions and a balance sheet size of Rs 25,000 crore from Rs 2,500 crore in the last three-and-a-half years, thanks mainly to its two mergers.

"We have got always said that we are unfastened to both organic and inorganic growth. Even when we did both the mergers, we were not in negotiation only with them. You necessitate to cook three for one to boil… These things take time," Vig said.

However, the amalgamations have got meant that all the bank's subdivisions are not on the same core banking platform. "We are still working on it… By the start of the adjacent fiscal year, LKB subdivisions will also be added to our core banking platform," Vig said.

And like its private sector peers, CBoP is also facing abrasion pain. The depository financial institution is focusing on hiring direction alumni from Grade two and Grade three cities.

"We hired 400 trainees last twelvemonth and we be after to engage the same figure this twelvemonth as well. We have got a contract by which we advance the best performing artists to a subdivision director within one twelvemonth and that have helped reserve some talent," he said.

"We also hired about 170 commercialism alumni last twelvemonth for military officer degree preparation and it's worked well, so we be after to engage about 300 more than this year," Vig said.

The depository fiscal institution anticipates involvement rates to come up down, but Vig said lowering place loan rates won't go on before the start of the new financial twelvemonth in April. "Home loans are not among our chief business, so it doesn't substance if other Banks cut rates or not," he said, replying to whether charge per unit cuts by other Banks will coerce CBoP to follow suit.

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