We are looking at ways of scaling up the SME business, either through partnerships or otherwise.
The idea is to target the hard-core middle class customer. Wealth management is a serious opportunity for us, as Indians become financially more mature.
The high interest margin was largely because of the retail nature of our business. But we also wanted to increase the fee-based income of the bank.
The merger with Bank of Punjab has brought new business lines, especially in its SME (small and medium enterprises) portfolio, and increased our low-cost retail deposit base.
