CHAPTER IV PROFILE OF MERGED BANKS

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1 CHAPTER IV PROFILE OF MERGED BANKS In this chapter, the brief profile of merged banks has been discussed. Total six cases, merged during the period 2004 to 2008 were selected for the study. 1. Bank of Baroda acquired South Gujarat Local Area Bank Ltd. According to the RBI, South Gujarat Local Area Bank had suffered net losses in consecutive years and witnessed a significant decline in its capital and reserves. To tackle this, RBI first passed a moratorium under Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949 and then, after extending the moratorium for the maximum permissible limit of six months 6, decided that all seven branches of SGLAB function as branches of Bank of Baroda. The final decision about the merger was of the Government of India in consultation with the RBI. Bank of Baroda was against the merger, and protested against the forced deal. The clients of SGLAB were effectively transferred to Bank of Baroda, deriving the advantage of dealing with a more secure and bigger bank. SGLAB did not benefit much, except that it was able to merge with a bigger bank and able to retain its branches and customers, albeit under a different name. Since BoB was a large entity (total assets of Rs billion at the time of merger), addition of a small liability did not affect it much. Albeit minor, it obtained seven more branches and the existing customers of SGLAB. This further strengthened its position in rural Gujarat. The brief profile of BOB and SGLAB is discussed below: BANK OF BAROD: Bank of Baroda (BoB) was founded by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad in July It started with a paid up capital of Rs 10 lakh. Bank of Baroda is a pioneer in various customer centric initiatives in the Indian banking sector. Bank is amongst first in the industry to complete an all inclusive rebranding exercise wherein various novel customer centric initiatives were undertaken along with the change of logo. The 108

2 initiatives include setting up of specialized NRI Branches, Gen Next Branches and Retail Loan Factories/ SME Loan Factories with an assembly line approach of processing loans for speedy disbursal of loans. It has been a wisely orchestrated growth, involving corporate wisdom, social pride and the vision of helping others grow, and growing itself in turn. The founder, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad, with his insight into the future, saw "a bank of this nature will prove a beneficial agency for lending, transmission, and deposit of money and will be a powerful factor in the development of art, industries and commerce of the State and adjoining territories." Between 1913 and 1917, as many as 87 banks failed in India. Bank of Barodasurvived the crisis, mainly due to its honest and prudent leadership. This financial integrity, business prudence, caution and an abiding care and concern for the hard earned savings of hard working people, were to become the central philosophy around which business decisions would be effected. This cardinal philosophy was over years of its existence, to become its biggest asset. It ensured that the Bank survived the Great War years. It ensured survival during the Great Depression. Even while big names were dragged into the Stock Market scam and the Capital Market scam, the Bank of Baroda continued its triumphant march along the best ethical practices. Ever since it s rebranding in 2005, bank has consistently promoted its major strengths viz. large international presence; technological advancement and superior customer service etc. Bank had introduced the sub brand BARODA NEXT State of the Art Straight from the Heart to showcase how it has utilized technology to nurture long term relationships for superior customer experience. The sub brand has been reinforced by alternate delivery channels such as internet banking, ATMs, mobile banking etc and robust delivery outfits like Retail Loan Factories, SME Loan Factories, and City Sales Office etc. Presently it has a net work of 3454 branches across India and 86 branches overseas, spread at Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Botswana, China, Fiji Island, Ghana, Hongkong, Kenya, Uganda, UAE, UK, US etc., 109

3 SOUTH GUJARAT LOCAL AREA BANK LTD South Gujarat Local Area bank ltd, was established on 3 rd October 2000 with an area of operation comprising three contiguous district viz., Navasari, Surat and Bharuch with its head office at Navasari. The bank had suffered net losses in consecutive years and witnessed a significant decline in its capital and reserve and it was merged with Bank of Baroda on Jun Oriental Bank Of Commerce Acquired Global Trust Bank: GTB being a south-based bank would give OBC the much-needed edge in the region apart from tax relief because of the merger. GTB had no choice as the merger was forced on it, by an RBI ruling, following its bankruptcy. OBC gained from the 104 branches and 276 ATMs of GTB, a workforce of 1400 employees and one million customers. Both banks also had a common IT platform. The merger also filled up OBC's lacunae - computerisation and high-end technology. OBC's presence in southern states increased along with the modern infrastructure of GTB. The brief profile of OBC and GTB is discussed below: ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE Oriental Bank of Commerce is an India-based bank established in Lahore. It is one of the public sector banks in India. Rai Bahadur Lala Sohan Lal, the first Chairman of the Bank, founded OBC in Within four years of its coming into existence, OBC had to face Partition. The bank had to close down its branches in the newly formed Pakistan and shift its registered office from Lahore to Amritsar. Lala Karam Chand Thapar, the then Chairman of the Bank, in a unique gesture honoured the commitments made to the depositors from Pakistan and paid every rupee to its departing customers. The Bank has witnessed many ups and downs since its establishment. The period of is said to be the most challenging phase in the history of the Bank. At one time profit plummeted to 175, that prompted the owner of the bank, the Thapar House, to sell / close the bank. Then employees and leaders of the Bank came forward to rescue the Bank. The owners were moved and had to change their decision of selling the bank and in turn they decided to improve the position of the bank with the active cooperation and 110

4 support of all the employees. Their efforts bore fruits and performance of the bank improved significantly. This was the turning point in the history of the bank. The bank was nationalised on 15 April At that time OBC ranked 19th among the 20 nationalised banks. In 1997, OBC acquired two banks: Bari Doab Bank and Punjab Cooperative Bank. The acquisition of these two banks brought with it no additional branches. The bank has progressed on several fronts, crossing the Business Mix mark of Rs. 2 lac crores as on 31 March 2010 making it the seventh largest Public Sector Bank in India On 14 August 2004, OBC amalgamated Global Trust Bank (GTB). The bank offers a wide range of banking products and services such as deposit accounts, loans, debit cards, credit cards (with tie up with SBI), Insurance products, ATMs, Internet banking, Mobile Banking, Self-banking halls, call centre, etc. The Bank has launched yet another people's participation in the planning process at grass root level essentially to tackle the maladies of poverty. The Grameen Projects venture aims to alleviate poverty plus identify the reasons responsible for the failure or success. OBC is implementing a GRAMEEN PROJECT in Dehradun District (UK) and Hanumangarh District (Rajasthan). Formulated on the pattern of the Bangladesh Grameen Bank, the Scheme has a unique feature of disbursing small loans ranging from 75 (~US $1.5) onwards. The beneficiaries of the Grameen Project are mostly women.the Bank is engaged in providing training to rural folk in using locally available raw material to produce pickles, jams etc. This has provided self-employment and augmented income levels thus reforming lives of rural folk and encouraging cottage industries in rural areasobc launched yet another unique scheme christened 'The Comprehensive Village Development Programme' on the auspicious day of Baisakhi, the 13th of April 1997 at three villages in Punjab namely Rurki Kalan (Distt. Sangrur), Raje Majra (Distt. Ropar) and Khaira Majha (Distt. Jaladhar) and two villages in Haryana, namely Khunga (Distt. Jind) and Narwal (Distt. Kaithal). The pilot launch was a great success. Emboldened by the success, Bank extended the programme to more villages. At present, it covers 15 villages; 10 in Punjab, 4 in Haryana and 1 in Rajasthan. The 111

5 programme focuses on providing a comprehensive and integrated package providing rural finance to the villagers with Village Development as its focus, thus contributing towards infrastructural development and augmentation of income for each farmer of the village. The Bank has implemented 14 point action plan for strengthening of credit delivery to women and has designated 5 branches as specialised branches for women entrepreneurs. GLOBAL TRUST BANK Global Trust Bank (India) (GTB) was founded on 21 October 1994 and commenced operations at Secunderabad. Its founders included Ramesh Gelli (its first Chairman), Sridar Subasri, and Jayant Madhob, among others. The bank introduced a number of technology-based innovations and responsive service. GTB was involved in the stock market scam of 2001, that the stockbroker Ketan Parekh ran. GTB lent heavily to individuals speculating in the stock market; when the market crashed the bank suffered extensive losses. One consequence was that merger talks with UTI Bank fell through. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) forced Gelli to resign. Gelli's successor resigned after six months, and Gelli's son joined the board of directors. In 2004, Gelli briefly returned to the bank in February 2004 before being again forced to resign. RBI examined GTB's accounts for and found that GTB's net worth had turned negative, but did not close the bank. GTB did not address its problems. Instead, and despite its dire straits, GTB continued to grow. It had 87 branches in , and grew to 103 branches before the RBIC forced it to close. It also paid interest on deposits at a rate equal to or better than other banks in its area. GTB sought to recapitalize itself by bringing in new investors. In mid-2004 GTB was in close talks with Newbridge Capital. Newbridge was to invest US$200million, subject to RBI approval. However, RBI was reluctant to permit private investors to restructure GTB. The RBC issued a Moratorium Order on 24 July Before GTB's winding up, Goldman Sachs owned 4% of the bank and the International Finance Corporationowned 5%. Oriental Bank of Commerce acquired GTB on 14 August The acquisition brought with it 103 branches, which increased OBC's branch total to

6 3. Indian Overseas Bank Acquired Bharat Overseas Bank: Bharat Overseas Bank (BOB) was a private bank based in Chennai, India. In 2007 it merged with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), which took over all the bank's employees, assets, and deposits. The brief profile of both the banks given below: INDINA OVERSEAS BANK Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is a major bank based in Chennai (Madras), with about 3350 domestic branches, including 1150 branches in Tamil Nadu, 3 extension counters, and eight branches and offices overseas as of 30 September Indian Overseas Bank has an ISO certified in-house Information Technology department, which has developed the software that its branches use to provide online banking to customers; the bank has achieved 100% networking status as well as 100% CBS status for its branches. IOB also has a network of about 3300 ATMs all over India. IOB has branches in Singapore, Hong Kong, Colombo, Seoul, and Bangkok. It has representative offices in Guangzhou, Vietnam, and Dubai. IOB also is part-owner of a joint-venture bank in Malaysia. In 1937, Thiru.M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar established the Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) to encourage overseas banking and foreign exchange operations. IOB started up simultaneously at three branches, one each in Karaikudi, Madras, and Rangoon. It quickly opened a branch in Penang, Kuala Lumpur (1937 or 1938), and another in Singapore (1937 or 1941). The bank served the Nattukottai Chettiars, who were a mercantile class that at the time had spread from Chettinadin Tamil Nadu state to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar), Malaya, Singapore, Java, Sumatra, and Saigon. As a result, from the beginning IOB specialised in foreign exchange and overseas banking (see below). Due to the war, IOB lost its branches in Rangoon and Penang, and Singapore, though the branch in Singapore resumed operations in 1942 under Japanese supervision. In 1945 or 1946 IOB opened a branch in Colombo. In 1947, IOB opened a branch in Bangkok. Then IOB added a branch each in Ipoh, Klang, and Malacca, all in Malaya. Some years later, in 1955, IOB opened its first branch in Hong Kong. Others would follow. In the 1960s, the banking sector in India was consolidating through the merger of 113

7 weak private sector banks with stronger ones. IOB acquired a number of local banks: Coimbatore Standard Bank (acq. 1963; one branch at Madras), Nanjinnad Bank (or Nanjanad Bank), Coimbatore Vasunthara Bank (or Coimbatore Vasundara Bank; est. June 1924; Head office and three branches; acq. 1964), Kulitalai Bank (est. 1933; acq. 1964; six branches), Srinivasa Perumal Bank (est. November 1935 at Coimbatore; acq. 1966), and (Sri/Lord) Venkateswara Bank (est. June 1931 as Salem Shevapet Sri Venkateswara Bank; acq. 1967; two branches in Salem, Tamil Nadu).Then in 1969 the Government of India nationalised IOB. At one point, probably before nationalisation, IOB had twenty of its eighty branches located overseas. However, Malaysian law forbade foreign government ownership of banks in Malaysia.After nationalization Indian Overseas Bank, like all the nationalised banks, turned inward, emphasising the opening of branches in rural India. In 1973, IOB, Indian Bank and United Commercial Bank established United Asian Bank Berhad in Malaysia. (Indian Bank had been operating in Malaysia since 1941 and United Commercial Bank had been operating there since 1948.) The banks set up United Asian to comply with the Banking Law in Malaysia, which prohibited foreign government banks from operating in the country. Each contributed their operations in Malaysia to the new joint-venture bank, with each of the three parent banks owning a third of the shares. At the time, Indian Bank had three branches, and Indian Overseas Bank and United Commercial Bank had eight between them. Also, IOB and six Indian private banks established Bharat Overseas Bank as a Chennai-based private bank to take over IOB's Bangkok branch. In , IOB acquired Bank of Tamil Nadu, and its 99 branches, in a rescue. Bank of Tamil Nadu (or Bank of Tamilnad), had been established in 1903 intirunelveli as the South India Bank. In 1992 Bank of Commerce (BOC), a Malaysian bank, acquired United Asian Bank (UAB). In 2000, IOB engaged in an initial public offering (IPO) that brought the government's share in the bank's equity down to 75%. In 2001 IOB acquired the Mumbaibased Adarsha Janata Sahakari Bank, which gave it a branch in Mumbai. Then in 2009 IOB took over Shree Suvarna Sahakari Bank, which was founded in 1969 and had its 114

8 head office in Pune. Shree Suvarna Sahakari Bank had been in administration since It had nine branches in Pune, two in Mumbai and one in Shirpur. The total employee strength was estimated to be little over 100.IOB opened an extension counter at New Kathiresan Temple complex, Bambalapitiya, Ceylon, on 29 August In 2005 IOB opened a representative office in Guangzhou, China. The next year IOB opened another representative office, this time in Kuala Lumpur. In the new millennium, international expansion picked up once again. In 2007, IOB took over Bharat Overseas Bank. Three years later, Malaysia awarded a commercial banking license to a locally incorporated bank to be jointly owned by Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and Andhra Bank. The new bank, India International Bank (Malaysia), commenced operations in 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, which has a large population of Indians. Andhra Bank holds a 25% stake in the joint-venture; Bank of Baroda owns 40%, and IOB the remaining 35%. IOB opened an Offshore Banking Unit in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 31 August The bank also upgraded its existing Extension Counter at Bambalapitiya into a full-fledged branch. BHARAT OVERSEAS BANK Bharat Overseas Bank (BOB) was a private bank based in Chennai, India. It was established in 1973 order to take over for the Bangkok branch of the Indian Overseas Bank. It was one of the few private banks that the Reserve Bank of India permitted to have a branch outside India, and was the only bank representing India in Thailand. It was owned by seven banks (initial ownership figures in parentheses), Indian Overseas Bank (30%), Bank of Rajasthan (16%), Vysya Bank (14.66%), Karur Vysya Bank (10%), Federal Bank (19.67%), South Indian Bank(10%), and Karnataka Bank (8.67%), but in 2007 Indian Overseas Bank fully acquired the bank. In 2007 it merged with Indian Overseas Bank, which took over all the bank's employees, assets, and deposits. 115

9 4. Federal Bank Ltd Acquired Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad Ltd: Kerala based Federal Bank takeover the Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad, with an intension to expand its business to Maharastra in The brief overview of both the bank is discussed below: FEDERAL BANK LTD: Federal Bank Limited is a major Indian commercial bank in the private sector headquartered at Aluva, Kerala having more than thousand branches and ATMs spread across different States in India. IT was founded as Travancore Federal Bank Limited in the year 1931, with an authorized capital of Rs It was established at Nedumpuram, a place near Tiruvalla, in Central Travancore (a princely state later merged into Kerala), under Travancore Company's Act. Thirteen years later, in 1944, Shri K P Hormis and his close relatives /friends took over the controlling interest in the bank. The following year, the paid-up capital of the bank went up to 71,000 and its registered office shifted to Aluva, in Ernakulam district of Kerala. With the opening of its first branch at Aluva, Travancore Federal Bank commenced its business. It was in the Board Meeting of March 1947 that the name of the bank was changed to Federal Bank Limited. After a gap of 12 years i.e. in 1959, the bank was licensed under Sec. 22 of the Banking Companies Act 1949, after which it floated several kuries and launched various deposit schemes. In 1964, it took over the liabilities of Chalakudy Public Bank Ltd. (Chalakudy), Cochin Union Bank Ltd. (Trichur) and Alleppey Bank Ltd. (Alleppey). In the next five year, Federal Bank took over St.George Union Bank Ltd. Puthenpally (1965) and Marthandom Commercial Bank Ltd. Trivandrum (1968). In 1970, it became a Scheduled Bank. Two years later, it became an authorized dealer in Foreign Exchange. Thereafter, Federal Bank came in an expansion mode and opened 53 branches in 1975 and 42 branches in In 1984, Federal Bank set up an Agricultural Finance Department in its head office, improving its performance in the field of agricultural and priority sector lending. The year 1985 saw Federal Bank opening a Personnel and Industrial Relations Department and a Computer Department. Four year later, the bank had entered the arena of Merchant Banking Operations. In 1993, ICICI group was roped in as a shareholder, 116

10 through private placement. The following year, the bank came out with its first public issue, which was oversubscribed around 60 times. In the year 1997, Federal Bank inaugurated its first ATM, at Eranakulam North. Tech-Savvy BankIt was in the year 2000 that Federal Bank started the Any Where Banking (ABB) service, in Bangalore, followed by the Depository Services, in association with NSDL. The same year, Internet Banking 'FedNet' was launched, with the Federal Millennium CD being just in tow. With the start of 2001, the bank saw the launch of Wide Area Network, connecting Regional Offices at Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ernakulam and Chennai F & I with Head Office. The following year, all the branches of the bank were fully computerized (using FedSoft). In 2002, Federal Bank started the installation of switch for networking all the ATMs. Soon enough, it introduced FedAlerts and FedMobile, with real-time transaction alerts and customizable options. Two years later, a call centre was set up by the bank, attached to the Systems and Technology Department, and co-branded credit cards were launched, in association with ICICI Bank. Not much time later, Federal Bank claimed the distinction of becoming the first traditional bank with networked branches, having 100 percent connectivity. Products & ServicesFederal Bank launched its International Debit Cards in the year The same year, it also provided Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) facility in all the branches, followed by Online Railway Reservation (with the first kiosk at the Marine Drive branch of Kochi). One year later, the bank launched Fed+Amrita, an online system for fixing medical consultation, health check up, and in-patient payments, from anywhere. In 2006, Federal Bank issued GDRs, becoming the first traditional bank to do so. GANESH BANK OF KURUNDWAD LTD Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad Ltd. was engaged in providing the banking services. The bank was founded in 1920 and is based in Kurundwad, Maharashtra. In 2006, Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad Ltd. merged with Federal Bank Ltd. 117

11 5. ICICI Bank Ltd Acquired Sangli Bank Ltd On 6 Dec 2006, ICICI Bank got merged with the unlisted The Sangli Bank Ltd. The deal was conducted through stock transaction.as part of the deal, shareholders of Sangli Bank received 100 shares of ICICI Bank for every 925 held. The overview of ICICI Bank and Sangli Bank is discussed below: ICICI BANK ICICI Bank was originally promoted in 1994 by ICICI Limited, an Indian financial institution, and was its wholly owned subsidiary. ICICI's shareholding in ICICI Bank was reduced to 46% through a public offering of shares in India in fiscal 1998, an equity offering in the form of ADRs listed on the NYSE in fiscal 2000, ICICI Bank's acquisition of Bank of Madura Limited in an all stock amalgamation in fiscal 2001, and secondary market sales by ICICI to institutional investors in fiscal 2001 and fiscal ICICI was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution for providing medium term and long term project financing to Indian businesses. In the 1990s, ICICI transformed its business from a development financial institution offering only project finance to a diversified financial services group offering a wide variety of products and services, both directly and through a number of subsidiaries and affiliates like ICICI Bank. In 1999, ICICI become the first Indian company and the first bank or financial institution from non Japan Asia to be listed on the NYSE. After consideration of various corporate structuring alternatives in the context of the emerging competitive scenario in the Indian banking industry, and the move towards universal banking, the managements of ICICI and ICICI Bank formed the view that the merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank would be the optimal strategic alternative for both entities, and would create the optimal legal structure for the ICICI group's universal banking strategy. The merger would enhance value for ICICI shareholders through the merged entity's access to low cost deposits, greater opportunities for earning fee based income and the ability to participate in the payments system and provide transaction 118

12 banking services. The merger would enhance value for ICICI Bank shareholders through a large capital base and scale of operations, seamless access to ICICI's strong corporate relationships built up over five decades, entry into new business segments, higher market share in various business segments, particularly fee based services, and access to the vast talent pool of ICICI and its subsidiaries. In October 2001, the Boards of Directors of ICICI and ICICI Bank approved the merger of ICICI and two of its wholly owned retail finance subsidiaries, ICICI Personal Financial Services Limited and ICICI Capital Services Limited, with ICICI Bank. The merger was approved by shareholders of ICICI and ICICI Bank in January 2002, by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in March 2002, and by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai and the Reserve Bank of India in April Consequent to the merger, the ICICI group's financing and banking operations, both wholesale and retail, have been integrated in a single entity. ICICI Bank is India's second largest bank with total assets of Rs. 4, billion ($91 billion) at March 31, 2011 and profit after tax Rs billion ($1,155 million) for the year ended March 31, The Bank has a network of 2,535 branches and 6,810 ATMs in India, and has a presence in 19 countries, including India. ICICI Bank offers a wide range of banking products and financial services to corporate and retail customers through a variety of delivery channels and through its specialised subsidiaries in the areas of investment banking, life and non life insurance, venture capital and asset management. The Bank currently has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Russia and Canada, branches in United States, Singapore, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Dubai International Finance Centre and representative offices in United Arab Emirates, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Their UK subsidiary has established branches in Belgium and Germany. ICICI Bank's equity shares are listed in India on Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). 119

13 SANGLI BANK LTD Sangli Bank was an unlisted private sector bank headquartered at Sangli in Maharashtra, India. As of March 31, 2006, the bank had deposits of Rs 2,004 crore, advances of Rs 888 crore, a net NPA ratio of 2.3 per cent and a capital adequacy of 1.6 per cent. In the year ended March 31, 2006, it incurred a loss of Rs 29 crore. It merged with ICICI Bank on 19 April HDFC Bank Ltd Acquired Centurion Bank Of Punjab Ltd: On May , HDFC Bank acquired the Centurion Bank of Punjab. CBoP had arround 400 branches operating out of about 180 locations supported by an employee base of over 7,500 employees. Loans outstnading of CBoP as of March 31, 2008 were Rs. 161,818.7 million and deposits outstanding of CBoP as of this same date were Rs. 218,092.7 million, as per Indian GAAP. The brief profile of both the banks is discussed below: HDFC BANK LTD The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) was amongst the first to receive an in principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, as part of RBI s liberalisation of the Indian Banking Industry in The bank was incorporated in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC Bank Limited', with its registered office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January HDFC is India s premier housing finance company and enjoys an impeccable track record in India as well as in international markets. Since its inception in 1977, the Corporation has maintained a consistent and healthy growth in its operations to remain the market leader in mortgages. Its outstanding loan portfolio covers well over a million dwelling units. HDFC has developed significant expertise in retail mortgage loans to different market segments and also has a large corporate client base for its housing related credit facilities. With its experience in the financial markets, strong market reputation, large shareholder base and unique consumer franchise, HDFC was ideally positioned to promote a bank in the Indian environment. 120

14 HDFC Bank is headquartered in Mumbai. As of March 31, 2015, the Bank s distribution network was at 4,014 branches in 2,464 cities.all branches are linked on an online real-time basis. Customers across India are also serviced through multiple delivery channels such as Phone Banking, Net Banking, Mobile Banking and SMS based banking. The Bank s expansion plans take into account the need to have a presence in all major industrial and commercial centres, where its corporate customers are located, as well as the need to build a strong retail customer base for both deposits and loan products. Being a clearing / settlement bank to various leading stock exchanges, the Bank has branches in centres where the NSE / BSE have a strong and active member base. The Bank also has a network of 11,766 ATMs across India. HDFC Bank s ATM network can be accessed by all domestic and international Visa / MasterCard, Visa Electron / Maestro, Plus / Cirrus and American express credit and cardholders. On May 23, 2008, the amalgamation of Centurion Bank of Punjab with HDFC Bank was formally approved by Reserve Bank of India to complete the statutory and regulatory approval process. As per the scheme of amalgamation, shareholders of CBoP received 1 share of HDFC Bank for every 29 shares of CBoP. The amalgamation added significant value to HDFC Bank in terms of increased branch network, geographic reach, and customer base, and a bigger pool of skilled manpower. In a milestone transaction in the Indian banking industry, Times Bank Limited (another new private sector bank promoted by Bennett, Coleman & Co. / Times Group) was merged with HDFC Bank Ltd., effective February 26, This was the first merger of two private banks in the New Generation Private Sector Banks. As per the scheme of amalgamation approved by the shareholders of both banks and the Reserve Bank of India, shareholders of Times Bank received 1 share of HDFC Bank for every 5.75 shares of Times Bank. CENTURION BANK OF PUNJAB LTD The Centurion Bank of Punjab (formerly Centurion Bank) was an Indian private sector bank that provided retail and corporate banking services. It operated on a strong nationwide franchise of 403 branches and had over 5,000 employees. The bank listed its shares on the major Indian stock exchanges and on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Centurion Bank was incorporated on 30 June 1994 and received its certificate of 121

15 Commencement of Business on 20 July. Centurion Bank was a joint venture between 20th Century Finance Corporation and its associates, and Keppel Group of Singapore through Kephinance Investment (Mauritius). Centurion had a network of ten branches, which grew to 29 branches the next year. Also in 1995 Centurion Bank amalgamated 20th Century Finance Corporation. On 29 June 2005, the Board of directors of Centurion Bank and Bank of Punjab agreed to a merger of the two banks. The combined bank took as its name Centurion Bank of Punjab. Bank of Punjab had been founded in The next year Centurion Bank of Punjab acquired Kochi-based Lord Krishna Bank. On 23 May 2008 HDFC Bank acquired Centurion Bank of Punjab. ***** 122