Bank of Baroda grows 35.52%

The total business of Indian lender Bank of Baroda in Abu Dhabi grew 35.52 per cent on the year to Dh2.48 billion for the financial year ended March, Ashok Gupta, chief executive for GCC Operations, told Gulf News in an interview. In the financial year ended March 2010, the bank's total business in Abu Dhabi stood at Dh1.83 billion, Gupta said. The loan book of the bank for Abu Dhabi had increased 42.17 per cent on year in the last financial year to Dh1.18 billion from Dh0.83 billion a year earlier, he said. He said the branch's deposits grew about 30 per cent on year in the year ended March to Dh1.3 billion from Dh1.01 billion. "Bank of Baroda is very bullish about lending in Abu Dhabi. With the highly proactive policies of Abu Dhabi under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi's economy has grown remarkably and there is tremendous scope for future growth," he said. Speaking about the bank's new initiatives in the emirate, Gupta said that, in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Bank of Baroda has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad). "Through the agreement, Bank of Baroda will help Kizad to attract foreign direct investment in Abu Dhabi by supporting new industries coming up in Kizad," he said. Gupta said the bank would act as a facilitator for investments in Kizad from big industrial houses in India. "The bank can play a very active role in the industrial growth of Abu Dhabi as it has tremendous expertise and experience of financing all kinds of industries," said Gupta. The bank currently has one branch in Abu Dhabi and a customer service centre at Musaffah at present but is keen to open one more branch and two to three customer service centres in the emirate in due course, he added. From / Gulf News