Kerala-based private sector lender, Federal Bank will open 150 new branches in the financial year 2012-13. The staff strength of the bank will touch 10,000 from 9,300 now by then. With the opening of its 1,000th branch in Muthoor near Thiruvalla, the Aluva-based bank will come fourth in terms of number of branches in the private banking sector after ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank in the entire country.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Shyam Srinivasan, said, “We are targeting a business of `1 lakh crore by the end of this financial year.”
“We are opening our 1000th branch on Chingam 1 (Aug 17). This is truly a special moment because the bank opened its first branch on Chingam 1 in 1945. For the last few years it has been opening branches, now we have to make sure that all branches are profitable,” he said.
The bank is planning to open its new branches in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and New Delhi.
The bank has made a net profit of `776.79 crore in the last financial year. Out of the total business of `89,000 crore, 53% is from Kerala. The bank has as many as 540 branches in Kerala.
Shyam Srinivasan, earlier with Standard Chartered Bank, said the bank is going through a ‘period of consolidation’.
“High inflation and interest rates are the major challenges in the banking sector. Interest rates may come down by the end of this year. By September-October there is a possibility that the inflation will ease,” he added.