Central Bank of India is 100 years old!

The Central Bank of India which is marking its centenary celebrations starting from today, plans to open branches oversees and achieve core banking solution (CBS) in all its existing branches, a top company official has said.

The bank plans to open branches in Hongkong, Bhutan, Tanzania and Mozambique, Central Bank of India's Executive Director Rajeev Kishor Dubey told PTI today. "Opening foreign branches is a part of getting more international business and providing banking facilities to the Indians settled abroad," Dubey said.

Besides, the bank also plans to include wealth management and asset management services, installing 500 on-site ATMs, IPO/FPO financing and thrust on financial inclusion, he said.

He added that Central Bank, which is the country's third largest public sector bank in terms of branch network, has already achieved 100 per cent CBS (core banking solution) coverage.

"The bank will provide banking services to 3,000 villages in the country having less than 2,000 population by 2012 as a part of government's directives on implementing Financial Inclusion programme using mobile telephone technology," Dubey said adding "the bank will develop a software in local languages so that it becomes easier for people to get banking facilities."

The Central Bank has targeted to achieve a total business turn over of Rs 3,00,000 crore (Rs 3 trillion) by the end of this fiscal year, as compared to Rs 2,46,000 crore (Rs 2.46 trillion)  target which it achieved last fiscal.

Dubey also gave details on steps taken in increasing the bank's business per employee to Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) from less than Rs 5.50 crore (Rs 55 million) per employee last year, reducing the NPAs and recovering a total of Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) from NPA accounts before March 31, 2011.