Punjab National Bank (PNB) has received approval from its board of directors to open a representative office in Dubai. This is part of its expansion strategy to increase its outreach in the Middle East and tap into the growing financial markets in the region.
“The bank has got the board of directors’ approval for opening a representative office in Dubai and the process is on for seeking regulatory clearance”, PNB managing director Atul Kumar Goel told PTI. He added, “Hopefully the representative office should come up during the current financial year, if all regulatory approvals are in place”.
PNB plans to enhance profitability by expanding its retail, agriculture, and MSME (RAM) portfolio, while also extending corporate loans and controlling slippages. PNB is also looking forward to improve its forex income and generate higher fee income from selling third-party products to augment its non-interest income.
In addition to the above PNB current development plans, PNB has a history of expanding its overseas operations:
Till 31th March, 2024, PNB has a presence in 6 countries through two subsidiaries (London-UK and Bhutan), one joint venture (Nepal), and two representative offices (Myanmar and Bangladesh).
PNB has previously unveiled its expansion plans in countries like Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and more. PNB also expressed interest in converting their representative office in Kazakhstan into a full-fledged branch and opening branches in Shanghai, Dubai’s International Finance Centre, and Norway.
Conclusion: PNB is demonstrating strong committed plans to expanding its overseas global reach and diversifying its overall revenue streams. This main point of focus on profitability and non-interest income indicates a strategic approach to international growth.
Source: PTI