The Punjab National Bank (PNB) opened a branch at Leicester in Britain where a large section of people of Indian origin are staying.
The branch was inaugurated this week in the Belgrave Commercial Centre, in the heart of what is called the Golden Mile - the heart of Asians business and culture. It is also popularly known as 'Little India'.
The branch was inaugurated by the Indian-origin Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Manjula Sood. The branch at present has five staff members. A tradition Hindu religious ceremony was performed at the opening of the branch.
Kamalesh Chakravarty, PNB chairman and managing director, remarked the bank hopes to attract 25 million pounds in deposits in its first year. Chakravarty pointed out, "We are looking at the long term. The credit crunch has had an effect in India but not on the scale seen in other parts of the world."
Earlier he had stated that the bank expects to make a profit of 4 to 5 million pounds in the current financial year. The bank started its operations in Britain in May 2007 aims to open new branches in Birmingham, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London. Already it is having branches in Southall and the City of London.
The bank got support in its move to Leicester by Invest Leicestershire and the East Midlands India Business Bureau.
The Punjab National Bank International is a subsidiary of the Punjab National Bank. Chakravarty informed bank has 4,600 branches in India and 38 million customers; therefore PNB aims to make a profit of 500 million dollars this year.
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