Kolkata-based United Bank of India has reported a 43.40% growth in its net profit to Rs 232.50 crore for the first half of the current financial year compared with Rs 162.08 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Total business of the bank grew 27% to Rs 61,963 crore, out of which deposits were Rs 38,770 crore, up 28%. The balance, Rs 23,193 crore, were advances that achieved a growth of 24.5% compared with the year-ago period. Retail credit soared 95% to touch Rs 5,908 crore from Rs 3,035 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. The figure was 25% of the total credit disbursal at the end of H1 of 2007-08 as against 16.3% during the year-ago period, bank chairman and managing director PK Gupta said while announcing the results. The capital adequacy ratio stood at 13.92%, he said. The bank, Gupta said, has already ventured into depository services and now tied up with IDBI Capital Markets for starting online share trading services. The bank’s newly appointed executive director, TM Bhasin, said UBI was also gearing up to start providing mobile banking. The bank, Gupta said, has received RBI’s permission to open 57 new branches. United Bank has plans to put 300 of its branches under CBS by March 2008.