Central Bank of India will roll out a dedicated wealth management vertical and re-enter the credit card business this year. Managing Director Kalyan Kumar tells Kshipra Petkar the bank will sharpen its focus on agriculture and MSME lending. Excerpts:
What are the key initiatives planned for FY27?
We plan to roll out wealth management and restart credit cards. We will create a dedicated sales team and also focus on international banking and forex business. We will need to hire talent, as these areas require some specialisation.
How comfortable are you with deposits amid sector-wide CASA pressure?
Deposits are not a challenge for us. Term deposits grew 17%, savings deposits 10%, and overall deposits 13.38% on year as of March 31. We have guided for a 10–12% deposit growth, which we believe is sustainable, given our rural franchise and segment-specific products.
How do you view competition for deposits?
Competition is stronger in urban and metro areas. But differentiation lies in aligning products, processes and people with customer behaviour.
What will be the main growth drivers in FY27?
Agriculture and MSME remain our core growth engines. Agriculture grew 17.6% year-on-year and MSME 17.06% as on March 31. Retail has grown over 25%, led by housing and vehicle loans. We have identified 300 agri-intensive branches and 225 MSME-focused branches across clusters. With 65% of our branches in rural and semi-urban areas, our presence aligns naturally with these segments.
Are you seeing stress in MSME or export-linked sectors?
Our exposure to export-oriented units is limited — around Rs 1,000 crore. We have not seen an alarming stress yet.
To what extent will ECLGS 5.0 help?
MSME lending is already growing over 17%. We are conducting outreach programmes across 100 plus centres to engage directly with borrowers. If any borrower faces supply chain issues or stress, support is available. But currently, we are not seeing widespread stress in the segment.
What does the corporate pipeline look like?
We are seeing demand from lease rental discounting (LRD), renewable energy, manufacturing, warehouses and data centres. The undisbursed sanctioned pipeline stands at Rs 6,000–7,000 crore.
How would you be impacted by the ECL norms?
We have already made provisions — Rs 1,525 crore for Stage 1 and Stage 2. Stage 3 is 100% provided. The RBI has also allowed migration from general reserves, and we have adequate reserves. There will not be any material impact on profitability or ratios.
What steps are you taking to strengthen cybersecurity?
Cyber resilience is a continuous process under regulatory guidance. We have a vendor risk committee that reviews vendors quarterly, and sometimes monthly, if required. There is a checklist-based onboarding process and continuous monitoring.
