New Delhi : Hyderabad based Andhra Bank, is all set to open its office in New Jersey, USA. Though the location has not yet been finalized, permission has been received by the bank to open a office.

A senior official of the bank said, "the New Jersey State Administration has given us the permission, and it wants us to set up an office as soon as possible." The hunt for a suitable location is on and the bank is expected to start its foreign operation very soon, the official added.

New Jersey has a large Non-Resident Indian population belonging to Andhra Pradesh state and this office in New Jersey is a strategic move for this 83 year old bank. The good rapport and familiarity enjoyed by the bank among the NRI community will definitely be a good start for the overseas operations of the bank. The bank also has plans for expansion into more locations in US after the New Jersey office.

Gulf and Middle-East is another priority area for the bank as these areas also have a large NRI population belonging to state. The bank is in talks with the authorities of the area and is awaiting approval to open branches there.

Andhra Bank has recently launched the debt swapping scheme particularly helpful for farmers and women. The AB Kisan Rakshak and AB Mahila Soubhagya scheme is specially tailored to provide bank credit to the indebted farmers and women to repay loans taken from private money lenders and other non-institutional lending sources, which often charge exorbitant interest rates.

AB Kiddy Bank is another new scheme launched by Andhra Bank, which will provide value added features for young children. With the AB Kiddy Bank saving scheme, the bank wishes to inculcate saving habits in children from a very young age and helps them understand the value of money. Any child aged between one month to 18 years can open the AB Kiddy Bank account and children over 12 years of age can operate the accounts in their name.