The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka Bank in talks for non-life insurance venture

Banks need to be responsive to the changing environment and the needs of their customers to be in the race, according to the Karnataka Bank Chairman, Mr Ananthakrishna.

Karnataka Bank is talking to a group of financial institutions in India and Japan to form a joint venture for promoting non-life insurance products. "The talks are at an advanced level and the joint venture might become a reality in a couple of months," he said here recently.

Stating that his bank's priorities lie north of the Vindhyas as it sees "a good potential for the old private sector banks" that have "customers at their heart," Mr Ananthakrishna said the new joint venture would feature, along with his bank, the Allahabad Bank, the Indian Overseas Bank and Sompo Japan, an insurance firm, to promote non-life insurance products. The joint venture would be a separate entity and all general insurance policies would be in the product range.

To open new branches

Karnataka Bank has planned to open new branches in Allahabad, Siliguri and Panipat shortly, while the Karur branch has been classified as a designated foreign exchange dealer, he said.

By March-end, the bank hopes to have established 125 ATMs.

Stating that the bank's financials were strong enough, he said the CD Ratio stood at 11.78 per cent as of March, while the NPA level was pegged at 1.18 per cent.

The bank's business volume was in the region of Rs 21,400 crore - including Rs 8,200 crore advances.

Not only the fittest, but also those that were capable of adaptation would survive in the highly competitive environment, he pointed out.

For that, the old private sector banks have to rapidly adapt themselves to the changing situation and be responsive to the changing needs of the customers, he emphasised.

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