According to the head and vice president of IndusInd Bank, Bangalore branch, H Ramakrishnan, the bank would expand its network in the country by taking its total branches to 50 by the end of the fiscal. The corporate office of the bank in Mumbai was currently in the process of conducting a series of surveys to identify suitable locations to set up new branches of the bank, he said. Bangalore was likely to have one more branch, he added.

During the fiscal, IndusInd Bank has plans to introduce a unique salary disbursement scheme for multinationals and big corporates, Ramakrishnan said. The scheme wasexpected to give a real respite to companies with large personnel strength. It would relieve companies of the burden of preparing salary checks and vouchers for each employee. It would also considerably cut down the time consumed in the procedures and paperwork involved in salary disbursements, he added.

The bank was currently in discussion with various MNCs and big corporates to educate them about the advantages of the scheme, he added.

During the fiscal, he said, the thrust area of the bank would be its ``anywhere banking'' facility. ``In this fiscal, we will concentrate on popularising our anywhere banking system and other unique facilities through out the country as IndusInd Bank's unique selling price,'' he said.

During the fiscal the bank has also plans to intensify its existing schemes like Indus Estate, Indus Housing and Investment Boutiques. These schemes were in existance for around a year and were performing well, he said.

During the year 1998-99, the bank has posted an all India depositturnover of Rs 5,000 crore while its total advances stood at Rs 2,650 crore. The bank's net profit during 1997-98 was Rs 92 crore and its financials for the year 1998-99 are currently being worked out. During the year of its inception (1994-95), the bank mopped up deposits of Rs 700 crore.