Thane co-op bank to expand to other states

A leading cooperative bank from Maharashtra, the Thane Janata Sahakari Bank (TJSB), has decided to expand in other states and plans to open branches in Goa, Karnataka and Gujarat, top officials said.

TJSB chairman Vidyadhar Vaishampayan said at a press conference on Thursday that the bank would open three branches in Gujarat, one in Karnataka and two more in Goa at Ponda and Margao, in addition to Mapusa, where it already has a branch.

The Reserve Bank of India has given permission to the bank to open 20 branches during the current financial year that would increase the number of its branches from 63 to 83. "The bank entered Goa and Karnataka six months ago and has received good response from customers," bank's chief executive officer Satish Utekar said, adding that the bank aims to target small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Goa.

Overall, Utekar said that the bank posted growth of 28% last fiscal reporting total business of Rs 7,000 crore.