Business | Banking
Bank of Baroda eyes UAE growth
Indian lender predicts loans and deposits will increase to Dh20b by March next year.
- By Himendra Mohan Kumar Staff Reporter
- Published: 22:45 July 21, 2009
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
- Bank of Baroda CEO Ashok Gupta (second from left), Saeed Rashid Al Yateem (left), Executive Director of the UAE Ministry of Finance, and Indian Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad (third from left) celebrate the bank's 101st anniversary.
Dubai: Indian multinational bank Bank of Baroda aims to increase its business (loans and deposits) in the UAE to Dh20 billion by March 2010 from about Dh16 billion at present, the bank's chief executive for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said on Tuesday.
"Our loans and deposits have grown by about Dh5 billion in the last year in the UAE. Segments such as the corporate sector, SMEs (small and medium enterprises), retail and trade finance have led our business growth," Ashok Gupta told Gulf News.
"We are using the global economic turmoil as an opportunity and have div-ersified our risks in various sectors to fuel business growth," he added.
Gupta said the Bank of Baroda is participating in the syndicated loans of various entities of the governments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
"The bank continues to be very liquid. We are lenders in the inter-bank market," he said.
Giving details of some of the bank's syndicated loan transactions over the past year, Gupta said Bank of Baroda participated in the syndicated loan of Dubai World to which it contributed $200 million (Dh734 million), while it contributed $100 million to Borse Dubai, $75 million to the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Dh250 million to Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).
Turning to Bank of Baroda's non-performing assets (NPAs) in the UAE, Gupta said that as of March, the bank's gross NPA was 0.58 per cent. "After taking adequate provisions, our net NPAs are now zero," he said.
Gupta said total remittances to India through the branches of Bank of Baroda in the UAE have increased 80 per cent on year to Rs29 billion (Dh2.2 billion) in the Indian financial year ended March 2009. The Bank of Baroda, which is currently celebrating its 101st year, has a network of 76 offices in 25 countries.
The bank has a presence in the world's major financial centres such as New York, London, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Business Editor's choice
-
Two Europe banks to inject new cash
Bank of England to pump £50b into UK as ecb mulls second credit offer
-
Nokia cuts 4,000 jobs in 3 countries
Company is struggling to make inroads in the smartphone market
