Coimbatore: The South Indian Bank (SIB) does not want to be left behind in the expansion race and has chalked out elaborate plans to widen its reach and establish a pan-India presence. The bank has set a target to expand its network of branches to 500 by March 2008. The bank has an existing network of 485 branches out of which 99 are currently operational in Tamil Nadu.

As a further step towards consolidating its presence in Tamil Nadu, South Indian Bank will open a branch in Dharmapuri next month and three in Chennai before March 2008. The Bank has acquired permission from RBI to open 28 new branches. By March end the bank expects to add 15 more branches to its tally and reach the stipulated target. The remaining 13 branches will be made operational during the first quarter of next fiscal.

Opening up of more exchange houses is also on the cards and SIB will add one more exchange house both at Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The exchange houses will enable speedy clearance of demand drafts and remittances between the customers of the Bank in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and those in India. This facility will cover all the networked branches and the customer accounts will be credited within 24 hours of remittance. 

One of the earliest banks established in India during the swadeshi movement, South Indian Bank is headquartered at Thrissur, a major town and now also known as the cultural capital of Kerala. SIB has many laurels to its credit and it was the first among the private sector banks in Kerala to become a scheduled bank in 1946 under the RBI Act. SIB has the third largest branch network among private Sector banks, in India, with all its branches under Core banking System. SBI offers a diverse range of personal banking, NRI banking and business banking services.