Indian Bank, a public sector lender, is targeting several emerging business segments to drive credit growth under its corporate lending portfolio, while continuing to focus on the RAM sectors — retail, agriculture and MSMEs. Renewables, EVs, Ethanol blending and power transmission are a few sectors of focus for the public sector bank.
The bank is looking to tap into high-growth infrastructure sectors. “Yes, a few sectors are in focus,” Binod Kumar, Managing Director & CEO of Indian Bank, told businessline. “Infrastructure is going to see massive demand—especially in renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), smart metering and city gas distribution (CGD). These are emerging areas.”
The bank is also bullish on the ethanol segment, which has seen a national blending rate of over 10 per cent, with scope to push towards 20 per cent and even 40 per cent in line with global benchmarks. Other focus areas include traditional infrastructure such as roads, ports and power transmission.
Acknowledging that these sectors require domain-specific knowledge, the MD stressed Indian Bank’s strategic efforts to build internal expertise. “That’s precisely why we’ve initiated specialised training in credit. We’re launching a six-month programme to build deep expertise. Our goal is to build in-house capability to assess creditworthiness effectively wherever opportunities arise,” he added.
Amid mounting challenges in growing low-cost deposits, the bank is also intensifying efforts to boost CASA (Current Account Savings Account) balances through targeted initiatives, including salary account tie-ups, differentiated services, and specialised formats such as senior citizen branches.
Kumar said CASA growth remains a challenge. “If people are expecting CASA to grow at 10–11 per cent, I think that will be difficult. Even garnering retail term deposits is going to be tough.”
In response, the bank is focusing on salary account acquisition to maintain steady floating balances. “Last year, we signed MoUs with around 13 institutions. Though results haven’t fully met expectations, we’ve still managed to garner around 40,000 salary accounts,” he said. These efforts are expected to continue, alongside the expansion of strong current account offerings that include value-added services such as MIS and analytics.
To differentiate itself in a highly competitive landscape, Indian Bank is developing unique offerings for specific customer segments. “The senior citizen population is increasing, and we’re planning a specialised branch for them—starting with one in Chennai,” said Kumar. Similar tailored services are being considered for women, such as complimentary health check-ups linked to account offerings.
The bank is also working to activate dormant QR codes and has approved the rollout of sound boxes to drive transaction volumes at merchant points.
The bank is also betting on its Retail Asset Centres (RACs), which were established last year to support CASA growth. With 100 centres in place, they brought in business worth ₹28,000 crore in their first year.
Kumar emphasised the untapped potential of digital adoption, noting that the bank currently serves 10 crore customers through end-to-end digital processes. However, mobile banking penetration remains low at just 1.95 crore users.
The bank’s UPI transaction volume stands at only 6-7 lakh, revealing a heavy reliance on third-party platforms like PhonePe and Google Pay. Kumar pointed out that customers prefer these apps for their convenience and easy navigation.
In response, the Bank is developing a new, exclusive and lightweight mobile application UPI Pay, similar to Paytm and Google Pay. The new app is expected to provide a single wallet for seamless transactions and reduce monthly UPI transaction costs.
Published on May 5, 2025
