The Kerala Bank has sought permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for receiving deposits from NRIs, targetting about Rs 1,50,000 crore, which has arrived at the State’s commercial banks. The bank deposits in both private and public sector banks that invest in stock markets, securities and major corporates, stated V.N. Vasavan, Minister for Cooperation and Registration, on October 16.
The Kerala Bank aimed to use the remittances from Kerala NRIs to develop basic infrastructure in the State, the Minister said in the application submitted, expecting speedy processing.
During the IT integration programme launch, he said Kerala Bank would enter into a new generation, turning fully IT-equipped bank offering all services online like money transfers and mobile banking. The digital services are expected to be ready in three months.
The Minister has clarified that Wipro will take care of the IT integration task, and Infosys will provide the service platforms.
According to Vasavan, the integration of 13 former district cooperative banks and the apex cooperative bank will scale up the growth of the Kerala Bank on a single digital platform. With this, the Kerala Bank aims to become the number one bank in Kerala.
Currently, the Kerala Bank has 769 branches and a total business turnover of Rs 1,06,396 crore. With such numbers and the volume of business, the Kerala Bank has turned into the second largest bank in the State.
As per the Minister, the Kerala Bank that has been part of the 100-day intensive programme announced by the government had provided Rs 824 crore worth of loans and created over 32,000 jobs in the State. However, the initial plan was to create only 20,000 jobs. Farmers, non-resident Indians (NRIs) and small entrepreneurs have benefitted from the programme.
During the first full year of its operations (2020-21), the Kerala Bank saw about 9.27% increase in deposits that grew from Rs 61,071 crore to Rs 66,731 crore. The financial year of 2020-21 also witnessed the bank making a net profit of more than Rs 60 crore.
