Toeing the line of peers like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank is also planning to make a foray into gold retailing business. It has approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to obtain necessary clearances.
Speaking to FE, Anil Girotra, executive director of the bank said, “We are awaiting approval from the apex bank and once it is in place the bank will start selling gold coins through select branches. Simultaneously, we have initiated talks with a couple of international companies who can supply gold. We will proceed further only after obtaining the RBI approval.”
The bank is going through a big technological transformation by switching over to the core banking platform. This will change the way the banking services are being delivered to the customers. He said that leveraging on this technological transformation, the bank was planning to get into online trading. It is in talks with a few broking firms to offer the service to its customers. “We hope to extend the services by the end of this calendar year,” he said. The bank has a network of 1,386 branches across the country. Of them, about 300 have been brought under CBS and by December , this will go up to 679 branches covering nearly 80% of the bank’s business. By early next year, all the branches of the bank would be brought under the CBS platform, he added.
Talking about the fee-based income, Girotra said that last year, it was Rs 84.76 crore and this year, the target was about Rs 150 crore. “Last year, as commission from sale of mutual funds alone the bank earned an income of Rs 1.1 crore. We have distribution arrangements with seven Asset Management Companies and our idea is to add 3-4 more mutual fund companies to the list. Talks are on with LIC MF, Fidelity and Birla Sunlife for distributing their mutual fund products”, he said.