Public sector lender, UCO Bank has set an ambitious target for achieving 20% growth in its overall business for this fiscal. Also it aims to reduce down its non performing assets (NPA) level to less than 3%, informed a top official of the bank.

"We have embarked upon an aggressive plan to grow our business in the coming years. We are expecting a 20 per cent growth in our business in FY 12. Also, with the initiatives that we have taken on the recovery front, we expect our NPAs to decrease to less than 3 per cent this fiscal as compared to last year," UCO Bank's Chairman and Managing Director, Arun Kaul said.

"We have set-up a separate vertical wherein we have opened around 6-7 branches for the purpose of recoveries. We will open a few more branches in the coming months. We want to clear the balance-sheet first," he said.

The bank is focusing separately on the SME lending business and has set up a special hub for the same in Mumbai.

"SMEs contribute largely to the growth of the economy. Realising the need to support such enterprises, we have decided to set up separate hubs which will take care of all loan requirements of SMEs," Kaul said.