Dev Credit Bank comes to Goa

| 13 November 2000 17:39 IST

The Development Credit Bank Ltd has started spreading southwards along the west coast with four branches being opened in Goa, followed by Chennai.

"Our base will remain the west and the south. But we will have alliances throughout India", said Naushad Padamsee, chairman of the DCB, which has come up with the help of the Geneva-based Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.

Having 55,000 shareholders, the book value of its shares has today reached Rs 145.12 and EPS of Rs 19.28. The DCB claims to be having deposits crossed Rs 3000 crore and advances of Rs 1513 crore at net profit of Rs 16.02 at the half year mark.

DCB is one of the few banks in India, which was started as a community-based co-operative credit society in 1930 during the British regime. It was among those selected 400 which were then converted into co-operative banks and also among the 14 who then received status of a scheduled bank and among the five having status of multi-state banks.

Eyeing the large amount of NRI deposits Goa has, the DCB - a joint stock banking company now - has opened four branches here in Panaji, Mapusa, Margao and Vasco with a full range of specialised services including the ATMs, merchant banking services like project appraisal and counselling with focus on retail finance and forex and international banking.

"Our focus would be midsize corporates rather than big industrial houses", said Padamsee while also claiming that the DCB aims at providing advances without going into much procedural hurdles.

He however appeared to be worried over the growing impact of globalisation and liberalisation, which in turn has hit small businesses due to international monopoly houses entering India. "We thus expect the government to soften the interest rates further", he said.

Though the DCB plans to expand its base in various metropolis as well as big towns, Padamsee said his policy also includes spreading 25 per cent of its base in semi-urban areas. "With the whole state having nature of semi-urban, we have thus opened four branches in this tiny tourist state", he stated.

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