Preparations were underway at a hectic pace at an office block just off the arterial Anna Salai on Monday for the inauguration of the first-ever commercial bank focused on delivering banking and microfinance services to women. Chennai is set to get one of the first seven branches of the Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), which is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to mark the occasion of Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
The Chennai branch of the BMB will throw open its doors, on the ground floor of the Overseas Towers, in a lane opposite the old TVS bus stop on Tuesday. The 1,162 sqft branch would also feature an already operational ATM from the word go. Space has been set aside for future expansion. The ‘women’s bank’ was among the announcements made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Union Budget for this year. The bank is being set up with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore.
The Prime Minister would inaugurate the seven branches across the country at a ceremony to be held in Mumbai, as the Model Code of Conduct is in force in Delhi for the Assembly polls. The bank would be headquartered in Delhi, and branches would function in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Guwahati and Ahmedabad.
Giving some clarity on the role the bank intends to play, Nijasundari, who is set to become the Chennai branch manager, said the operations would be on par with any commercial bank. But the services and products offered would be women-centric.
The branch would have a staff of eight officers. While senior staff have been taken on deputation from other public sector banks, the probationary officers have been recruited directly. The staff would include male officers and the bank would accept applications for accounts from men as well. The bank is set to roll out products aimed at women from marginalised sections, minority communities and the differently-abled among others.