Canara Bank adopts a new image and enhances its services to compete with peers
Canara Bank, since its founding in 1906, has seen and survived various phases. The 100-year-old bank at present has a current base of 46,000 employees and 31 million customers, numbers that make it one of the largest banks in India today. In terms of reach, the bank has 2,640 branches, far ahead of even the biggest private player in the industry - ICICI Bank.
However, of late, the bank was lagging behind and was facing stiff competition from peers in terms of services offered and technology deployed. The banking sector is expected to boom in the coming years, especially once foreign banks have open access to the sector from 2009. With that in mind, the bank saw the urgency to set a new and modern brand image to retain and attract new customers. Recently, in December 2007, the bank has upgraded its brand image and done away with their old logo. The bank has adopted a new tag-line "Together We Can" and has a new bright coloured logo, which gives it a modern look and feel. Among the services, the bank has started their online trading services in association with Gilt Securities Trading Corporation, a subsidiary of Canara Bank. The bank also has plans to expand its overseas branch network.
Canara Bank is expecting to grow at a faster pace after working and improving its brand image. Apart from this, the bank is doing every possible thing to be in news. With an eye on the competition, it recently reduced the benchmark PLR (prime lending rate) twice within 15 days to bring it down from 13.25 to 12.75 per cent. The bank has reported robust figures in its last three quarters of FY2007-08. The bank's net profits have shown a tremendous rise on a quarterly basis as well.
The bank's stock had a major run-up on the bourses recently as it touched its lifetime high of Rs 404 in January. Fund managers too are showing keen interest in the bank's stock. As per the December 2007 portfolios, only six funds were having positions in this stock. But as per the January portfolios, this number has gone up to 25 now. Seeing the fund manager's interest, one can say that the counter has a lot of steam left.
This article was originally published on March 11, 2008.
Ask Value Research 
New episodes every Friday 
New Process Alert 
Seems like you've uploaded a wrong QR code. Please upload the QR code downloaded from MF Central platform.
