UBI to increase tea sector portfolio to ₹1,150

United Bank of India plans to increase its tea sector portfolio to about ₹1,150 crore from the existing ₹1,000 crore. Its MD & CEO Pawan Bajaj said that the bank had a strong presence in the sector in West Bengal, Assam, and Meghalaya. “We hope the portfolio will increase by ₹100 crore to ₹150 crore from the tea sector in the south,” he said. The bank had also opened about 3 lakh accounts for plantation sector workers in the north in the demonetisation period. On the impact of demonetisation, he said the bank’s CASA went up to 48.3% from 42.8% and deposits increased by ₹10,500 crore. The gross NPA of the bank was 15.8%. Most of these were corporate accounts and the NPA was high in sectors such as infrastructure and steel. It was looking at initiating action under Insolvency Act and recovery was expected to go up, he said. It will give a thrust to MSME and retail sectors. Mr. Bajaj said the bank had licences to open 35 more branches by the end of this financial year. It has conducted survey for 276 centre for next financial year and opening of branches in these places will depend on RBI approval. Its presence was more in the east and north east now and the focus now would be on south, west, and northern States.