New private sector banks are those that were set up after the industry was opened up in the early 1990s. In all, 10 new banks have been set up since then, of which one, TimesBank, was merged with HDFC Bank in late November 1999. And despite a fall in treasury income this year, most of these banks have managed to do pretty well. A status report:
- Centurion Bank: Posted a Rs 105.14 net loss in fiscal March 2004, but is on the rebound path with BankMuscat and Sabre Capital infusing funds and taking over reins.
- Global Trust Bank: Made a flying start in 1993, clocking Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) of deposits on Day One of its existence. Ran into bad loan problems of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion). Is on the verge of merger following the Centre's moratorium. Posted Rs 272.7 crore (Rs 2.727 billion) net loss in the year ended March 31, 2003.
- Times Bank merged with HDFC Bank in the first deal of its kind in the country between two new private sector banks in November . Merger effective from December 1, 1999. HDFC Bank has been doing well ever since, clocking industry-besting growth rates. Its net profit in the first quarter ended June 30, 2004, was Rs 139.97 crore (Rs 1.399 billion), while net profit for the year ended March 31, 2003, it was Rs 509.5 crore (Rs 5.095 billion) net profit.
- One year later, ICICI Bank merged with Bank of Madura in a 2:1 swap deal in December 2000. The move made ICICI Bank among the biggest private players in the country. It's consolidation move continued and in October 2001, it merged with its parent, financial institution ICICI, in a 1:2 swap. ICICI Bank posted a net profit of Rs 510 crore (Rs 5.10 billion) the first quarter of FY 2005. It's bottom line for the financial year ended march 31, 2004, stood at Rs 1,637.1 crore (Rs 16.371 billion).
- IndusInd Bank, another new private sector bank, has also been among the best performers. It ramped up its balance sheet in December 2003, when it merged with Ashok Leyland Finance. In fiscal 2004, the bank posted a net profit of Rs 262.07 crore (Rs 2.620 billion).
- IDBI Bank, another new private sector bank, too has been among the performers. It could be merged into parent IDBI when the financial institution converts itself into a bank. IDBI Bank posted a net profit of Rs 36.7 crore (Rs 367 million) in Q1 2005 and a net of Rs 132.45 crore (Rs 1.324 billion) in fiscal 2004.
- UTI Bank has been yet another consisted performer over the past few years. It posted a 45 per cent growth in Q12005 net profit at Rs 70.67 crore (Rs 706.7 million), while its full-year 2004 bottomline stood at Rs 278.31 crore (Rs 2.783 billion). The bank has also reported improvement in the quality of assets due to significant growth in NPA provisioning.
- Bank of Punjab clocked a profit of Rs 68.41 crore (Rs 684.1 million) in Q1 2005, while for the year ended March 31, 2004, its net was Rs 370.02 crore (Rs 3.700 billion).
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, the newest bank to launch business, has had a good start, clocking a net profit of Rs 78.73 crore (Rs 787.3 million) in the 2003-04 financial year against Rs 44.96 crore (Rs 449.6 million) previously.
- YesBank, promoted by former Rabobank chief Rana Kapoor and the last new private sector bank to get a licence from the Reserve Bank of India, is yet to commence operations.
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