Bank of Maharashtra joins the fray in opening all-women branches; Bank of India plans 50

Q2 NUMBERS: Bank of Maharashtra EDs Rajendran & Athmaram

TAKING a cue from India’s first state-owned women-only Bharatiya Mahila Bank, which is expected to be operational from November 13, a number of public sector banks including the Bank of Maharashtra have started opening all-women branches across the country. The Bank of Maharashtra, for example, opened seven all-women branches across the country during the first six months of the current fiscal. Another public sector bank, the...

Bank of India plans to open 50 all-women branches — one in each of its 50 zones — to facilitate the empowerment of women. The bank’s first all-women bank branch was inaugurated recently in Hurhuru area of Hazaribagh (Ranchi).
In fact, the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai is housing India’s first state-owned women-only Bharatiya Mahila Bank. The bank will have 25 branches across eight locations, including the four metros, besides Bangalore, Indore, Ahmedabad and Guwahati. The government plans to set up about 25 branches of the proposed public sector Bharatiya Mahila Bank by the end of this fiscal.

The government has already approved Rs 1,000 crore for the public sector bank, announced by finance minister P Chidambaram in his last Budget speech. The government is also on a look out for locations to set up the branches. The Reserve Bank of India, on its part, gave its in-principal approval for the Bharatiya Mahila Bank in June, and the banking company is being set up. One of the key objectives of the Bank is to focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment of women.

Meanwhile, Bank of Maharashtra's total income increased to Rs 6,170 crore in the quarter ending September 30, from Rs 4,651 crore during the same period last fiscal showing an increase of 36.5 percent. The operating profit of the bank during the first half of the current fiscal was Rs 1,114 crore compared to Rs 913 crore during the same period last fiscal. This was stated by the executive directors of the bank C VR Rajendran and R Athmaram while explaining Q2 figures on Tuesday.
Also, the bank has achieved the milestone of crossing the business level of Rs 2 lakh crore. It has also extended its door-step-banking facilities to 28 branches. The bank is expecting to make some impact in a highly competitive banking environment by making Maha-super housing, vehicles and consumer loan schemes more attractive.