Bank of Baroda has received New Zealand regulatory approval for setting up a branch in that country, chairman and managing director M D Mallya said on the sidelines of a banking conference on Wednesday.
“We have received all necessary licences and will launch operations in New Zealand via a subsidiary in January,” he said. He said it was too early to comment on whether the Reserve Bank of India’s 18% credit growth target for 2009-10 will be achieved.
“The sentiment for credit offtake remains positive in FY10.” He expects interest rates to remain stable on the ample liquidity in the system. Mallya said lending for home loans and to SMEs was seeing a good pick-up but loans to corporates and new projects still remain weak.
“The pipeline for sanctioned loans is substantial and we expect disbursals to rise soon. Due to robust pipeline there is substantial scope for credit pick-up in the third and fourth quarters,” Mallya said. He expected corporates to gradually approach banks for funds after tapping other sources first.
Bank of Baroda is looking for a complementary network, geographical and other synergies in mergers with smaller banks, Mallya said.
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