Saraswat Bank ties up with Reliance ADAG to sell core banking solution

Leading co-operative lender Saraswat Bank has tied up with Reliance ADAG under which the Anil Ambani-led group will market a core banking solution developed by the bank's infotech subsidiary.

"We have recently tied up with the ADAG through which we can sell our core banking software 'Swift Core' to banks using ADAG's optical fibre network spread across the country," Saraswat Bank's chairman Eknath Thakur told reporters late last evening.

Swift Core has been developed by Saraswat Infotech Limited (SIL), Thakur said, adding an estimated 300 small banks across the country need to install core banking software as a compliance measure.

"The large banks go for packages developed by bigger companies like (Oracle) I-flex and Infosys but we will target the product at 300 smalelr banks who also need to install CBS," Thakur said.

 The ADAG will market the product and do the invoicing while SIL will serve as the service provider and carry out the maintenance, he said, without specifying the name of the ADAG group company or subsidiary it has partnered with.

Thakur said SIL will benefit a lot as from the tie-up with ADAG, specifying ADAG's investments of over Rs 15,000 crore to erect the OFC network, 6,000 employees and a centralised data monitoring centre at Navi Mumbai as the advantages which will help Saraswat Bank.

Saraswat Bank has also been recently given a pan-India operations license by the Reserve Bank of India, making it the first lender from the co-operative space to be granted such a go-ahead, Thakur said.

It is looking at expanding its branch network to 500 from the present 216 by FY 16 end and a majority of the new branches will be in geographies beyond the six states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, New Delhi and Goa where it has a presence presently.

The 93-year-old bank plans to open 50 branches in cities having a population of over 10 lakh in the next two years and will be first concentrating on expansion in southern states which will be followed by National Capital Region and other northern states, Thakur said.

Saraswat's Bank total business crossed Rs 28,000 crore yesterday, making it the largest co-operative bank in the country, Thakur claimed.

"Before its board was dissolved, the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank which is supported the State Government was the biggest with a total business mix of Rs 27,800 crore. We have crossed them," Thakur said.