Bandhan Bank to open 551 branches in FY’23, focus on boosting distribution beyond east India

KOLKATA, (PTI): Bandhan Bank will open 551 more branches in the 2022-23 fiscal, as a part of the lender’s focus to make its distribution stronger in other parts of India outside the eastern region, MD & CEO Chandra Sekhar Ghosh said.

With the latest addition, the Kolkata-headquartered bank’s branch count will exceed 6,000, he said.

”India is a huge country and just one Bandhan Bank of the scale at which we are right now is not enough. So, we have to scale up even further and even faster.

”Majority of these (new branches) will be outside of east India, where we are already very strong in penetration. Bolstering our distribution in other parts of the country is a key focus for us,” Ghosh said here at the seventh anniversary celebrations of Bandhan Bank on Monday night.

He said the bank’s push for digital and tech transformation has been a great success, with 92 per cent of the total transactions taking place through the digital route.

Ghosh also said Bandhan Bank will continue to expand its product portfolio, having recently added mutual funds to the lender’s list of offerings.

”Today, we launched another product, specifically for the younger audiences,” he said.

Ghosh said the lender has moved on from the days its entire advance book was just microcredit. Today, the share of microcredit has come down to 44 per cent, while the remaining 56 per cent consists of non-microfinance loans, he said.

”We now have about three lakh home loan customers; our home loan portfolio is increasing at a pace of nearly 20 per cent year-on-year. The bank is also well-placed to disburse over 8,000 two-wheeler loans per month during this fiscal from 3,000 earlier,” he added. (PTI)