Mahabaleshwara MS, MD, and CEO, Karnataka Bank, discussed the staff members of branches and offices through the country, to the head office in Mangaluru, through virtual mode recently, and defined the blueprint of the strategies and broad plan of action for the new financial year 2023-24.

Addressing the staff members, he said, “As per the provisional numbers, the business turnover of the bank stood at Rs 1,48,694 crore, with a growth rate of 7.6%, consisting of deposits of Rs 87,362 crore, and advances of Rs 61,326 crore. The total CASA deposits now stands at 32.97% of total deposits, as on March 31. We have navigated the financial year fairly well, by exhibiting sustainable growth in liabilities and assets, prudent asset liability management and robust risk management practices, negating the adverse after-effects of global developments like rising interest rates, Ukraine war and so on.”

For the new financial year, the bank has planned to grow its business at 17.7%, to take the total business turnover to Rs 1,75,000 crore. He said, “Karnataka Bank has stepped into its 100th year of purposeful service to the nation on February 18, and this is a historical moment in the annals of the bank. The bank also launched year-long centennial celebrations, powered by an accelerated new transformation journey KBL-NxT, that will propel the bank to new heights of growth,” he said.

Sekhar Rao, executive director, said that the performance of the bank for the year gone by has been satisfactory, under the given macro-economic scenario. “The bank is poised to strengthen its operational ratios in the coming quarters, given its solid fundamentals, good IT infrastructure and the hygiene of the credit portfolio. With inflation softening, and a favourable central budget for the fiscal year, it is good news for the Indian economy, and we shall collectively resolve to set new benchmarks of performance in the centenary year, delivering value for all stakeholders,” he said.