HDFC Bank Ltd. has announced plans to open more than 675 branches in semi-urban and rural locations (SURU) of India in FY24 to expand its presence in these areas. With this, the bank’s total number of branches in non-urban areas would reach close to 5,000. As of March 31, 2023, it had 52% of its 7,821 branches in SURU areas, the bank said.
On May 4, the bank introduced a customised programme ‘Vishesh’, for SURU areas offering a blend of financial and wellness benefits to customers in these geographies.
“As a bank, we believe Bharat is critical for tomorrow’s India and improving rural lives is key to India becoming a $5 trillion economy. Our unique customer engagement model and differentiated propositions for customers in semi-urban and rural geographies position the bank to play the role of an ideal partner to enrich rural lives,” said Arvind Vohra, Group Head-Retail Branch Banking, HDFC Bank.
“Today, large sections of Indians living beyond the metros and Tier-1 cities seek the same standard of living and banking products/financial services as in urban India. HDFC Bank has been at the forefront when it comes to catering to this need. Launching customised products like ‘Vishesh’ is one more step in this direction,” he added.
