136 new branches of private banks spring up in Gujarat; Check the details here

  • | Thursday | 8th April, 2021

Majority of the new branches are opened by Axis Bank (35), HDFC Bank (23), IDFC First Bank (27), Bandhan Bank (35) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (10).

At a time when public sector bank branches, particularly those of banks that have recently undergone mergers are shrinking in Gujarat, the number of private bank branches are growing rapidly. Even in the pandemic year, private sector banks added some 136 new branches in Gujarat between December 2019 and December 2020.

According to the latest report by State Level Bankers’ committee (SLBC) – Gujarat, some 2,070 new bank branches were added in Gujarat in December 2019 which grew to 2,208 in December 2020.

Majority of the new branches are opened by Axis Bank (35), HDFC Bank (23), IDFC First Bank (27), Bandhan Bank (35) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (10).

“Private banks have remained bullish on expanding their branches in a bid to increase their network. However, the expansion of bank branches took place mostly in metro and urban areas whereas very few new branches came up in semi-urban or rural areas,” said M M Bansal, convener, SLBC – Gujarat.

Banking sector sources confirmed that despite the pandemic, footfalls at bank branches were good particularly in urban areas as well as metros and therefore, branch expansion was only logical for private banks.

For instance, private sector lender, HDFC Bank alone operationalised 24 branches in 2020-21 and 32 in 2019-20. “Besides urban areas, the bank is also focusing on expanding its reach in semi-urban and rural areas,” said a source.

SLBC sources said that while digitisation will continue, banks are also looking to strengthen their physical presence in various markets so that they can reach out to a wider set of customers. Therefore, they’re bullish on expanding.

In contrast, expansion of branches came to a standstill in public sector banks, especially those which underwent a merger because many of them had to rationalize branch operations.


If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

NYOOOZ FRIEND

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.


Stay updated with all the Ahmedabad Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.

Related Articles