Indian lender Bandhan Bank is set to open 187 new branches by March next year, subject to approval by the central bank.
The move was announced by Bandhan Bank managing director and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as the bank seeks to bolster its national footprint.
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Currently, Bandhan Bank has 999 branches in India. Most of its branches are concentrated in the eastern and north-eastern part of the country accounting for 65% of its branch network, reported The Telegraph.
Ghosh was quoted by the publication as saying: “These 187 branches will be located in places where there are good pockets of deposits.”
Last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on Bandhan Bank on opening new branches as it failed to reduce promoter’s stake in the company to 40%.
Subsequently, the lender initiated certain steps to reduce promoter holdings, following which it gained RBI approval to open 40 new branches in December last year.
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By GlobalDataAs a part of the process, Bandhan Bank also agreed to acquire HDFC Bank’s home loan subsidiary Gruh Finance. The acquisition will reduce promoter’s stake from 82.3% to around 60%.
In the June quarter this year, Bandhan Bank registered a net profit of INR7.01bn ($101.7m). The figure represents a 46% jump over INR4.82bn a year ago.
Bandhan Financial Holdings (BFHL) is the promoting entity of the bank and is owned by Bandhan Financial Services (BFSL).
