UCO Bank pushing more on SME credit; net up by 12 pc

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SME Times News Bureau | 07 May, 2012
Public sector UCO Bank has said the bank is trying to reduce its dependence on bulk corporate credits and pushing more on retail credits like agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

"We are putting major emphasis on retail side growthâ¦it is in this regard that we have opened a lot of branches," UCO Bank chairman and managing director Arun Kaul said in Kolkataon.

The bank has registered a 12 percent growth in its net profit to Rs 2.53 billion during the quarter ended March 31, 2012, from Rs 2.26 billion in the same period last year.

The total income of the Kolkata-headquartered bank during the fourth quarter under review has increased to Rs 42.17 billion from Rs 33.6 billion during the same quarter previous fiscal.

The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 11.09 billion for the year ended March 31, 2012 as compared to Rs 9.07 billion for the year ended March 31, 2011.

"The profits would have been more but for higher provisioning for non-performing assets of Rs.379 crore during the fourth quarter, as against Rs 94 crore during same period last year," Kaul said.

Kaul said in the last fiscal, the bank had posted a credit growth of 16.85 percent.

"For the full (fiscal) year the bank's credit growth is 16.85 percent, deposit growth is 6.06 percent. We have deliberately grown slowly on deposit growth because the bank has historically been dependent substantially on deposit growth. We have contained the growth of bulk deposits and focused more on core deposits," he said.

On asset side, bank executive director N.R. Badrinarayanan said, "We want to de-risk the balance sheet by reducing our exposure to big accounts."

Badrinarayanan said more than 60 percent of the banks' total advances lie in the corporate sector at present, while retail accounts for a miniscule 8.5 percent.