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LKB on the look out for foreign partner

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Aug. 2

LORD Krishna Bank (LKB) plans to rope in a foreign bank as a strategic partner by offering up to 20 per cent equity stake, the LKB Chairman, Mr. J. Kasivishwanathan, has said.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Kasivishwanathan said LKB was already holding discussions with two foreign banks for the purpose.

Though bank officials declined to reveal the names of the foreign banks they were holding negotiations with, they said both banks do not currently have operations in India and were looking forward to entering the country.

Mr. A. K. Puri, Director, LKB, and one of the principle shareholders of the bank, said the foreign partner would provide the necessary technological support for LKB's expansion efforts. ``We want to be a technology-driven bank,'' Mr. Puri said, while dis closing that the bank planned to set up 50 more branches by the year 2002.

He said LKB's efforts were to break the image of being a local bank with operations mainly in Kerala, and become an all-India player in a few years time. The bank currently has a network of 65 branches.

LKB, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, will also be inaugurating 14 new branches and 10 extension counters in the current fiscal.

The bank would also commence foreign exchange operations at New Delhi at the end of September, having already acquired the authorised dealer licence from the Reserve Bank of India. The bank is expecting a forex business of Rs. 540 crores in the first yea r and Rs. 1,000 crores by the end of the next fiscal.

In fiscal 1999-2000, LKB achieved a net profit of Rs. 6.3 crores, registering 393.80 per cent growth over the previous year's net of Rs. 1.29 crores.

Mr. Puri said the bank was going all-out to recover its bad debts. He pointed out that non-performing assets (NPAs) had been brought down to 14 per cent at the end of March 31, 2000, from 27 per cent two years back. The bank aimed at bringing down the ne t NPAs to 6-7 per cent in the current fiscal, he said.