Corporation Bank makes a net profit of Rs. 444 crores

Brings 558 units under core banking solutions network

KOCHI: Corporation Bank posted a net profit of Rs. 444 crores for the financial year ended March 31, 2006, said its General Manager, B.R. Bhat, here on Monday.

Addressing a conference of branch managers, he said the total business of the bank rose from Rs. 45,780 crores as on March 31, 2005 to Rs. 56,839 crores as on the corresponding date this year.

The bank registered a growth of 24.16 per cent and its net worth stood at Rs. 3,375 crores as on March 31, 2006. The bank declared a total dividend of 70 per cent for the financial year 2005-06, including the interim dividend of 35 per cent already paid. The bank had opened 58 branches during the year 2005-06, taking their number to 835.

Besides, the bank put in place 100 more ATMs during the year, taking the total number of them to 901. All the branches of the bank had been computerised. The bank had brought 558 units under the Core Banking Solutions network, representing 87 per cent of its total business by March-end.

Mr. Bhat said the bank was a pioneer among public sector banks in offering cash management services to corporates, having launched it in 1991. The turnover under this exceeded Rs. 1,12,000 crores for the previous financial year.

He said the bank had 19 exclusive collection and payment services branches across the country, with the central processing hub in Bangalore. A large number of corporates from Kerala were availing themselves of these services, he said.

He said the bank had now launched inter-bank fund transfer facility based on real-time gross settlement system implemented by the Reserve Bank of India. As many as 540 of the branches were enabled to offer the system. Through this information technology-based remittance facility, a customer could now transfer money online from his or her account to that of anyone in over 20,500 branches of more than 115 banks in the country within two hours. This product had been branded Corp Bullet, developed with the feature of upload facility for bulk payments. Security was ensured by an electronic messaging process, and the service eliminated the need for cheques/demand drafts/telegraphic transfers for inter-bank money transfers at service charges comparable to that of these remittance modes.

In Kerala, the bank had 58 branches and five extension counters, handling a total business exceeding Rs. 1400 crores. Out of these, 45 branches/extension counters were under Core Banking Solutions, enabling the customer to use anywhere banking facility. The bank had taken up lending to self-help groups through its branch network as a focus area and had already identified clients, he said. The bank expected to deploy substantial funds under this segment.