With the aim of increasing presence in the country, private lender IndusInd Bank has announced its expansion plans in the coming months. The bank intends to open 30 new branches, set up 50 new off-site automatic teller machines (ATMs) and 6 mobile ATMs.

The chief operating officer of the bank, Paul Abraham informed that four or five of the branches would be set up in Kerala. The bank has recently received RBI's authority for this expansion.

Mr. Abraham told that the bank was taking on this expansion plan due to an increased venture in the retail sector mainly comprising the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Even the vehicle financing has been a major reason for the move.

The bank has joined hands with many agencies to increase the accessibility of funds from UAE to States such as Kerala. Currently the bank has 59 branches and 116 ATMs in the southern region. Providing further detail about the new initiatives, Abraham said that strong association has been set with some regional banks in West Asia. Also there are tie-ups broking firms in order to offer online trading accounts. A wide range of products in treasury for retail forays, wealth management and remittances will be available in the new branches.

There will also be an improvement on SME financing and NRI business will be another area where the bank will focus. The bank is also going to focus on investment banking so as to support the middle market business and transaction banking.

Mr Abraham said that electronic settlement platform has been started in Coonoor to have a smoother auction of tea. The bank is planning to have a strong hold in the agri-commodity business for which rubber, pepper and spices are some of the focus commodities in Kerala.

Some other instrument and services of the bank include mutual funds, bonds and insurance schemes. It has also had a tie-up with Aviva Life Insurance and Cholamandalam MS for life insurance and general insurance respectively.

Paul Abraham said, "The Bank is aggressively striving to be among the top three private sector banks in the next three years in terms of productivity, profitability and efficiency."

Currently the bank has 180 branches spread over 147 geographical locations in 28 states and union territories across India.

Earlier IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) had also announced the expansion plans of its subsidiary IndusInd Bank in its Annual General Meeting.