Axis Bank plans to extend branch network in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Axis Bank plans to extend its branch network in the state by adding 28 more branches and 69 new ATMs this financial year, as it aims to enhance accessibility for the people of Gujarat.

The lender opened its 5000th branch in Ahmedabad city on Tuesday, 29 years after it launched its first branch in the same city.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the new branch. Axis Bank MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

The bank has 389 branches in Gujarat, out of which 147 branches are in the metro, 60 in urban regions, 106 in semi-urban, 18 in rural and 58 in unbanked rural regions.

The Bank's very first branch was opened here in 1994, then known as UTI Bank. This first branch was inaugurated by former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Axis Bank said in a statement.

"The bank plans to extend its branch network in the state by adding 28 more branches and 69 new ATMs in this fiscal year. This strategic expansion demonstrates Axis Bank's commitment to enhance accessibility and convenience for the people of Gujarat," it said.

Axis bank's MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry told reporters that the bank is betting big on its three "distinct propositions" of Bharat banking, digitisation, and 'Sparsh'.

The Bharat banking business caters to the needs of rural and semi urban populations, and digitisation remains a huge area of focus for the bank, Chaudhry said, adding that Sparsh is a programme meant to drive consumer obsession in the bank.

Bank's Group Executive and Head of Branch Banking, Ravi Narayanan said Axis bank is looking to open 500 branches through this fiscal.

"By the end of the first half of this year, we should be somewhere around the 50 per cent mark, which should ensure that the pace that we are going, we should be comfortable in terms of what we have set out as our aspiration," he said.

The bank engages over 1,040 village-level entrepreneurs in Gujarat to provide financial support to its large customer-base in the rural regions and has also committed Rs 37 crores from FY 2024 to 2027, to support 28,520 rural families in Gujarat through various Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, it said.