SIB ‘plans more schemes eyeing Indian expats’

Kerala’s Thrissur-headquartered South Indian Bank (SIB) Limited is chalking out ambitious plans to cover more non-resident Indians (NRIs) as part of its ongoing expansion exercise. Informing this on Friday at a huge gathering of Doha-based NRIs at Regency Halls, SIB CEO and Managing Director Dr V A Joseph, who is here, accompanied by a large delegation of the bank’s officials, said the SIB’s decision to host its first ever regional conference in Doha showed its commitment to the NRIs, who constituted nearly 35-40% of its customers. “Our bank has more than 300,000 NRI customers and a large number of them are from Qatar,” said Dr Joseph, whose elevation to the bank’s stewardship six years ago ensured an impressive growth in its fortunes. The bank currently has 679 branches and within a few months from now their number will cross 700, he said. It also has more than 610 ATMs. South Indian Bank, now in its 83rd year, is the third largest in terms of branch networks among private sector banks in India. While attributing the remarkable growth of the bank in recent years to the patronage extended by the NRIs, the CEO said his team is committed to respond to meeting the growing requirements of its customers in the GCC states, whom he said are virtually the backbone of the SIB. Dr Joseph said as per the current rate of its growth, SIB has every reason to believe that its business target of Rs 750 billion in the first half of 2014 could be reached much before that date. “Along with achieving the milestone of Rs 750 billion, the bank has also set a target to expand its network to 750 branches and 7,500 employees during the period,” he said. The bank, he said, is the only private sector bank from India to manage the operations of an exchange in the UAE.  Speaking later, SIB non-executive chairman Amitabha Guha said it is owing to the overwhelming support of the NRIs that the bank is being addressed to as a pan-Indian bank despite its regional nomenclature. Guha said it is a matter of pride for the SIB that its services would be available in 26 out of the 28 Indian states with the commencing of its new branch in Nagaland in a few days from now. The function also featured a music concert featuring playback singers Biju Narayan and Devanand (Prathapachandran) among others. CEO Dr Joseph, an avid music enthusiast also entertained the gathering with a popular Mohamed Rafi number. Earlier, the bank’s executive director Abraham Tharyan welcomed the gathering. Executive Director Cherian Varkey proposed a vote of thanks. More than 800 people attended the meeting. Ramesh Mathew Feb 2012