SBH plans to start biometric, mobile ATMs

State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) managing director Amitabha Guha said in the next financial year the bank has plans to start biometric and mobile ATMs.

In an interview given to the Business Standard he said, “We plan to launch our first biometric ATM in Medak district of Andhra Pradesh and a mobile ATM in Hyderabad on a pilot basis during the next financial year. We want to assess the acceptance of the illiterate and semi-literate people towards these initiatives before launching them across the country in a phased manner,”

In the next year bank also has plans to expand its network by opening 50 more new branches and network of 250 ATMs.

In Hyderabad SBH on Wednesday opened its 1,000th branch. The branch was inaugurated by 78-year-old Hari Shankar, its oldest customer in the city who holds an account with the bank since 1965.

Guha told the reporter that SBH’s entire branch network had been brought under the core banking solutions (CBS) umbrella, and in the next fiscal the bank will be expanding its network by opening 50 more new branches and network of 250 ATMs.

“We will be adding 50 more branches next fiscal. Our customers currently have access to 510 ATMs of the bank, which is expected to increase by another 250 during the year,” he said.

Speaking about the banks business for the current fiscal he said given the changing market dynamics at low interest rates among others, SBH is expected to end the current fiscal with a business of Rs 88,000 crore, with 27 per cent and 20 per cent growth in advances and deposits respectively. He added, “We are, however, hopeful of reaching the scheduled target of Rs 1 lakh crore next year”.

The gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank are expected to be at 1 per cent of gross advances by the end of March 31, 2008, and net NPA at 0.20 per cent of net advances.