Visakhapatnam Cooperative Bank to open branch in Vijayawada

The Visakhapatnam Cooperative Bank Limited will open its first branch in the city on April 17.

Addressing a press conference here, bank chairman Chalasani Raghavendra Rao said the proposed new branch would be 39th branch in Andhra Pradesh and Telangan. The bank has plans to open branches at Hyderabad, Guntur, Kadapa and Kurnool by the end of this year. It proposes to take the network to 50 branches by 2020. The bank has set a target of collecting Rs. 4,500 crore as deposits and extend loans to the tune of Rs. 3,000 crore by 2020, he said.

Bank emeritus chairman Manam Anjaneyulu said the bank has requested the Reserve Bank of India to accord scheduled bank status to it. The bank had a healthy balance sheet with less non-performing Assets (NPAs). The bank was also paying a dividend of 15 per cent to its shareholders. As per the change in rules, the bank paid income tax of Rs. 10 crore last year. There was no income tax on cooperative banks until 2006. The government should relook into the income tax on cooperative banks. It will help the cooperative banks extend dividend to shareholders and offer better services to the customers, he added.