Indian government-backed lender committed to expansion in the UAE and Gulf region
Dubai: Bank of Baroda (BoB), which is majority (55.4 per cent) owned by the Indian government, has plans to expand its global presence with strong emphasis on the UAE and the Gulf region, S S Mundra, chairman and managing director of the bank, said on Sunday.
In the UAE the bank’s total book size expanded at a compounded average growth rate of 25 per cent during the last five years and reached Dh49 billion at the end of 2013. The customer base of the bank now stands at 285,000 compared to 50,000 five years ago.
“We have seen phenomenal growth in our asset size and number of customers in the UAE,” said Mundra. “Our business growth here is closely linked to the growing trade and business transactions between India and the UAE. In fact, our UAE business accounts for more than 30 per cent of our global business.”
BoB is the only Indian bank that has on-shore branch operations in the UAE. Currently, the bank has six branches and nine electronic banking units in addition to the DIFC offshore branch. The bank recently opened its branch at its new premises in Crystal Plaza building and opened two new electronic banking units (EBUs) in Jebel Ali and Shabiya in Abu Dhabi.
Mundra said he will be meeting the UAE central bank officials during his current visit. “We will be holding talks with the UAE central bank and seek the regulator’s assistance in opening new branches and electronic banking units in the UAE to meet the growing customer demand,” he said.
BoB, with a network of 101 international branches across 24 countries, has more than 30 per cent of its consolidated assets coming from international operations. Mundra said the bank has ambitious overseas expansion plans and wants a significant portion of investments committed to the UAE and the Gulf region because of the large-volume business between India and the region.
