Hdfc Bank To Open More Than 675 Branches In Semi: urban, rural areas in FY24 - official

Housing Development Finance

04/05/2023 10:23

By Siddhi Nayak
       MUMBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank  HDBK.NS , India's
largest private lender, is planning to open more than 675
branches in the semi-urban and rural geographies across the
country in 2023-24, a senior bank official said on Thursday.
    The move is part of the lender's new programme targeting
customers in semi-urban and rural areas, helping the bank meet
some of its Priority Sector Lending (PSL) targets.
    PSL requirements, which include lending to weaker segments
of the economy, are linked to an organisation's loan book.
    The move would take the total number of branches in these
locations to around 5,000 in this fiscal year, Arvind Vohra,
group head – retail branch banking at HDFC Bank, said at the
programme's launch.
    The bank had 7,821 branches and 19,727 automated teller
machines across 3,811 cities and towns in India as on March 31,
as per data released on the bank's website. Of this, around 52%
of the bank's branches are in the semi-urban and rural areas.
    The bank expects to onboard 100,000 customers in these
regions through the programme.
    Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted HDFC
Bank to meet PSL requirements in a staggered fashion over three
years to smooth out its merger with its parent company Housing
Development Finance Corp  HDFC.NS .
    At the end of the first year after the merger, the combined
entity will need to include one-third of HDFC's loan book to
calculate the amount of PSL required, the RBI had said.
    Going forward, HDFC Bank aims to double business in
semi-urban and rural areas - both by assets and liabilities - in
the next two-to-three years, Vohra said.

 (Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
 ((Siddhi.Nayak@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6921 7848;))