MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Axis Bank Extends Financial Services to Rural Areas in India

Axis Bank, a financial services firm based in Mumbai, India, plans to extend “affordable” banking services to 5,500 villages by March 2011 and an additional 6,500 villages by 2015. The bank has started the financial inclusion initiative in villages near Nashik in Maharastra and Darjeeling in West Bengal. According to SK Chakrabarti, the executive director of Axis Bank, the bank is also looking into several low-cost delivery models such as smart card, mobile banking and point of transaction device. Axis Bank has previously funded microlenders on a wholesale basis in 11 Indian states.

As of March 2009, Axis Bank claimed a net revenue of INR 137 billion (USD 2.93 billion) and a net income of INR 18.1 billion (USD 396 million).

By Conner Brannen, Research Assistant

About Axis Bank:

Established in 1994, Axis Bank, formerly UTI Bank, is a financial services firm based in Mumbai, India. The bank changed in name in April 2007 to avoid confusion with another unrelated corporation with a similar name. As of March 2009, Axis Bank claimed net revenue of INR 137 billion (USD 2.93 billion) and a net income of INR 18.1 billion (USD 396 million).

Sources and Additional Resources:

The Economic Times: “Axis Bank Targets 12,000 Villages Under Financial Inclusion Plan,” July 2, 2010: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/banking/finance/banking/Axis-Bank-targets-12000-villages-under-financial-inclusion-plan/articleshow/6116930.cms

Axis Bank: http://www.axisbank.com/corporate/credit/microfinance/Micro-Finance.asp

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: G20?s Financial Inclusion Experts Group (FIEG) Releases Nine “Principles for Innovative Financial Inclusion” at Leadership Summit in Toronto, Canada, July 2, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-g20s-financial-inclusion-experts-group-fieg-releases-nine-principles-for-innovative-financial-inclusion-at-leadership-summit-in-toronto-canada/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India: Microfinance Industry Predicts $30b in loan portfolio and 110m Clients By 2014, June 19, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-india-microfinance-industry-predicts-30b-in-loan-portfolio-and-110m-clients-by-2014/

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