"Your Directors have pleasure in presenting the One Hundred and Sixteenth Annual Report ofthe Bank with the audited Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account and the Report on Business andOperations for the year ended March 31,2024(FY 2024)".
Business Performance & Key Financials
| FY 2023 | FY 2024 | |
| Global Deposits | 1203687.79 | 1326957.84 |
| of which - Internationa! Deposits | 156312.58 | 198444.04 |
| Domestic Deposits | 1047375.21 | 1128513.80 |
| Current Account Deposits | 75110.67 | 76386.30 |
| of which Savings Bank Deposits | 367399.83 | 390014.49 |
| Domestic CASA Deposits | 442510.5 | 466400.80 |
| Domestic CASA to Domestic Deposits (%) | 42.25 | 41.33 |
| Net Advances | 940998.27 | 1065781.72 |
| Dom Advances | 776589.63 | 880816.61 |
| of which International Net Advances | 164408.64 | 184965.11 |
| Global Gross Advance | 969548.31 | 1090505.80 |
| Total Business (Global Deposit + Global Gross Advance) | 2173236.1 | 2417463.65 |
| Total Assets | 1458561.55 | 1585797.09 |
| Net Interest Income (NII) | 41356.01 | 44721.53 |
| Other Income | 10025.84 | 14495.37 |
| Of which Trading Gains | 1062.50 | 1491.93 |
| Operating Income (NII + Other Income) | 51381.58 | 59216.90 |
| Operating Expenses | 24518.31 | 28251.68 |
| Operating Profit | 26863.54 | 30965.23 |
| Provisions (Other than Tax) | 7136.90 | 6075.61 |
| of which-Provisions for NPAs and Bad debts written off | 4,350.52 | 6470.86 |
| Profit Before Tax | 19726.64 | 24889.61 |
| Provision for Tax | 5617.02 | 7100.83 |
| Net Profit | 14109.62 | 17788.78 |
| Appropriations/Transfers | ||
| Statutory Reserve | 3,527.40 | 4,447.20 |
| Capital Reserve | 92.57 | 104.17 |
| Revenue and Other Reserves | ||
| I) General Reserve | 7274.12 | 8,079.23 |
| II) Special Reserve u/s 36 (I) (viii) of the Income Tax Act 1961 | 300.00 | 615.92 |
| III) Investment Reserve Account | 0.00 | 563.86 |
| IV) Investment Fluctuation Reserve | 30.00 | 0.00 |
| V) Statutory Reserve (Foreign) | 41.28 | 48.17 |
| Proposed Dividend | 2,844.25 | 3,930.24 |
Total deposits of the bank increased to 13,26,958 crore in FY2024 from 12,03,688 crore in FY 2023, there by registereda growth of 10.2 % on a YoY basis. The domestic CASA ofthe bank grew by 5.4% on a YoY basis, to reach to the levelof 4,66,401 crore, in FY 2024. The Domestic Deposit grewby 7.7% on a YoY basis, to 11,28,514 crore, in FY 2024. TheNet advance of the bank increased to 10,65,782 crore inFY 2024 from 9,40,998 crore in FY 2023, there by recordeda growth of 13.3% during the period. The Global Grossadvance of the Bank reached to the level of 10,90,506 crorein FY 2024 as compared with 9,69,548 crore in FY 2023by registering a growth of 12.5% on a YoY basis. The TotalBusiness of the Bank grew to 24,17,464 crore in FY 2024crore from 21,73,236 crore in FY 2023, registered a growthof 11.2% on YoY basis.
Net Interest Income of the Bank increased to 44,722 crorein FY 2024 from 41,356 crore in FY 2023, grew by 8.1%on a YoY basis. Other Income of the Bank increased to14,495 crore in FY 2024 which was at 10,026 crore in FY2023, thereby registered a growth of 44.6% on a YoY basis.Operating expenses of the Bank stood at 28,252 crore in FY2024 as compared with 24,518 crore in FY 2023. OperatingIncome of the Bank increased to 59,217 crore in FY 2024from 51,382 crore in FY 2023, registered a growth of 15.2%on a YoY basis.
The Bank reported a Net Profit of 17,789 crore in FY 2024from 14,110 crore in FY 2023, grew by 26.1% on a YoY basis.The Operating profit of the Bank grew by 15.3% at 30,965crore in FY 2024 as compared with 26,864 crore in FY 2023.
Key Performance indicators
| Key PerformanceIndicators | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Net Interest Margin - Global(%) | 3.31 | 3.18 |
| Cost-Income Ratio (%) | 47.72 | 47.71 |
| Return on Average Assets(ROAA) (%) | 1.03 | 1.17 |
| Return on Equity (%) | 18.34 | 18.95 |
| Book Value per Share () | 148.80 | 181.48 |
| Basic EPS () | 27.28 | 34.40 |
Net Interest Margin (NIM) stood at 3.18% in FY 2024 as against3.31% in FY 2023. Cost to income ratio stood at 47.71%in FY 2024 from 47.72% in FY 2023, reduced by 1 basispoint(bps). Return on Assets for FY 2024 improved by 14 bpsto 1.17% in FY 2024 from 1.03% in FY 2023, reflects excellentperformance in profitability. Return on Equity increased by 61bps to 18.95% in FY2024 increased from 18.34% in FY 2023.Book value per share increased to 181.48 in FY 2024 from148.80 in FY 2023. Earnings Per share increased to 34.40in FY 2024 from 27.28 in FY 2023.
Average Cost & Yield of funds and Average Interestearning Assets
| Key Performance Indicators | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Average Cost of Funds (%) | 4.08 | 5.12 |
| Average Yield on Funds (%) | 7.17 | 8.01 |
| Average Interest Earning Assets( in crore) | 12,49,846 | 14,05,271 |
| Average Interest BearingLiabilities ( in crore) | 11,81,750 | 13,26,655 |
The average cost of fund and yield of fund stood at 5.12% and8.01% in FY 2024. Average Interest Earning asset increasedto 14,05,271 crore in FY 2024 from 12,49,846 crore in FY2023. The Average Interest Bearing Liabilities also increasedto 13,26,655 crore in FY 2024 from 11,81,750 crore in FY2023.
Capital Adequacy Ratio
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Capital Adequacy Ratio | 16.24 | 16.31 |
| Basel III | ||
| CET I | 12.24 | 12.54 |
| Tier I | 13.99 | 14.07 |
| Tier II | 2.25 | 2.24 |
The Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the Bank increasedto 16.31% as of March 31, 2024 from 16.24% as of March31, 2023. CET-1 ratio increased to 12.54% in FY 2024 from12.24% in FY 2023. The consolidated capital adequacy ratioof the Bank was 16.68 % as of March 31, 2024 while it was16.73% as of March 31,2023.
During FY 2024, the Bank issued Tier 2 capital of 5000 crore.Net worth
The Banks net worth for Financial Year 2024 was increasedto 93,850.76 crore comprising of paid-up equity capitalof 1,035.53 crore and reserves of 1,11,188.05 crore(excluding revaluation reserves, foreign currency translationreserves and other intangible assets). The Banks net worthin the previous Financial Year 2023 was at 76,951.07 crorecomprising of paid-up equity capital of 1,035.53 crore andreserves of 97,187.36 crore (excluding revaluation reserves,foreign currency translation reserves and other intangibleassets).
Book value per share (Face Value 2) increased to 181.48 inFY 2024 from 148.80 in FY 2023.
Provisions towards Retirement and other benefits
During FY 2024, the Bank made provision towardscontribution to gratuity (1240.75 crore), pension funds(2425.47 crore), leave encashment, additional retirementbenefits and other benefits (403.19 crore). Total provisionsunder these categories amounted to 4069.41 crore duringFY 2024.
Dividend Distribution
Board of Directors of the bank has recommended a dividendof 7.60 per share for the financial year ended March 31,2024.The total outgo in the form of dividend will be 3,930.24 crore.The payment of dividend is subject to requisite approvals.
Management Discussion and Analysis
Global Economy
The world economy proved to be more resilient than earlierthought in 2023-24 period, despite witnessing anothermajor shock of Israel-Hamas war in Oct23. The Middle Eastcontinues to be plagued with such tensions. Apart fromexternal factors, domestic conditions have also impactedgrowth in each country. For instance, US economy performedmuch better than what was earlier expected with 2023 growthclocking in at 2.5% following 1.9% increase in 2022. On theother hand, Eurozone and Canada performed poorly. As perIMFs latest World Economic Outlook, growth in AdvancedEconomies (AEs) slowed to 1.6% in 2023 from 2.6% in 2022.Within this group, growth in Euro Area dropped to a mere0.1% in 2023 compared with 3.3% in 2022. This was led bycontraction in its largest economy (Germany) in 2023 (-0.2%)following 1.8% growth in 2022.
Growth in Emerging and Developing Economies (EMDEs)held up better, expanding by 4.5% in 2023, after increasingby 4.1% in 2022. Improvement in growth in China (from 3%in 2022 to 5.4% in 2023), accounted for most of the pickupin growth in this region. Revival in demand following removalof Covid-19 protocols and, along with loose fiscal policy andcertain structural reforms announced helped improve growth.However, reeling property sector crisis and threat to localgovernment financial crisis still remains.
On the prices front, global inflation softened to 6.8% in 2023from 8.7% in 2022. Both oil and non-fuel prices fell sharply.Oil prices dropped by (-) 16.4% in 2023, following a 39.2%jump in 2022. Non-fuel prices fell by (-) 5.7%, compared with7.9% increase in 2022. Despite ongoing tensions in Ukraine-Russia region and beginning of Israel-Hamas war in Oct23,prices remained weak owing to elevated interest rates acrosscountries and weak demand conditions. Inflation in AEsshowed significant moderation in 2023 (4.6% versus 7.3% in2022) compared with EMDEs (8.3% versus 9.8%).
To bring inflation under control, global central banks acrossthe world, kept interest rates elevated in 2023 with a ratecut possibility likely in in 2024. Amongst the AEs, US Fedpolicy rate is currently at a 23-year high of 5.25-5.5%. Bankof England (BoE) has maintained its policy rate at a 15-yearhigh of 5.25% and ECB has kept it at a 22-year high of 4.5%.Amongst Emerging Markets (EMs), central banks in India andIndonesia had also raised policy rates aggressively.
Global trade volumes dipped in 2023 amidst moderation inglobal growth and demand. Volume of goods and servicestrade moderated to 0.3% in 2023 from 5.1% in 2022. This wasled by a sharp deceleration in volume of goods and servicesexport of EMDEs to (-) 0.1% in 2023 compared with 4.1%in 2022. Volume of goods and services imports of AEs alsodeclined by (-) 1% in 2023 compared with 6.7% in 2022.
Divergence in global growth has become more apparentat the start of 2024. Financial conditions still remain tightas major central banks are yet to embark on their rate cutcycles. However, as growth slows and inflation moderates,there remains heightened expectation of easing monetarypolicy in the coming months. Along with this, loose fiscal andmonetary policy in China, and reform measures announcedto deal with the ongoing property sector crisis may help boostglobal growth prospects.
Based on this, IMF projects global GDP growth at 3.2% in2024 with risks evenly balanced. The report notes that theWorld has avoided the possibility of a recession supportedby surprising resilience in the US economy. Growth in AEsis expected to improve further to 1.7%. This will be led bypickup in US (2.7% versus 2.5% in 2023) and Euro Area to0.8% (0.4% in 2023). Significantly, Germany, the regionsbiggest economy is expected to come out of a recession in2024 as it is projected to grow by 0.2% (-0.3% in 2023), whileUKs economy is also expected to perform better with 0.5%growth expected this year (0.1% in 2023). US Fed has alsorevised upwards its projections for GDP growth in 2024 to2.1%, from 1.4% expected in Dec23 policy.
On the other hand, growth in EMDEs is expected at 4.2%,slowing marginally from 4.3% in 2023. This will be due to aslowdown expected in China, Latin America, and Russia. Onthe other hand, India, Middle East and Central Asian countriesare expected to perform well this year. Indian economy isprojected to grow by 6.8% for FY25, slightly lower than RBIsprojection of 7%.
Inflation is expected to moderate further in 2024, mainly dueto progress made in AEs (2.6% versus 4.6% in 2023). Whileinflation for EMDEs is expected to remain unchanged at8.3%. Oil prices are projected to decline further by (-) 2.5% in2024 (-16.4% in 2023), but non fuel commodities may see abuild-up in pressure as they are expected to increase by 0.1%in 2024, following (-) 5.7% decline in 2023. This could delaythe timing of rate cuts by global central banks, which in turnmay impact global growth prospects.
Indian Economy
Growth in the Indian economy remains on a strong footingas the domestic economy continues to showcase resiliencebacked by strong macro fundamentals. The economy clockeda robust growth of 8.2% in FY24 compared with a growth of7% in FY23. This will be the third consecutive year when theeconomy has recorded above 7% growth, post the pandemicinduced contraction. Industry has registered a growth of9.5% against 2.1% in FY23 supported by higher growth inboth manufacturing (9.9% from -2.2%) and mining activity(7.1% from 1.9%). Construction sector registered close todouble digit growth at 9.9% against 9.4% in the previous yearan account of housing sector doing well.
Services sector registered some moderation, but continueto record above 7% growth as reflected by stronger PMIreadings for the year (60.3 in FY24 against 57.3 in FY23).Other indicators including domestic passenger traffic, railfreight and GST collections have registered strong growthduring this period.
On price front, headline inflation averaged 5.4% in FY24down from 6.9% in FY23. This is lower than the RBIsupper tolerance band of 6%. After easing down to 4.6% inQ1, headline inflation accelerated to 6.4% in Q2 driven byvegetable inflation along with the sustained pressure notedin prices of cereals, spices and pulses, given lower sowingof kharif crops. However, by Q3 there was a sharp correction(5.4%) in food prices with fuel inflation slipping into deflation.Softening of global commodity prices and supply sideinterventions by government restricted any price pressure.The ebbing in core inflation is evident with Q3 and Q4 down to4.1% and 3.4% respectively. For FY25, RBI expects headlineCPI to moderate further to 4.5% with risks evenly balancedand assuming a normal monsoon.
India‘s fiscal deficit for Apr-Mar24 stood at 16.5 lakh croreand around 95.3% of the revised annual target for the year. Itstood at 5.6% of GDP in FY24 and has been lower than therevised target of 5.8% at 17.35 lakh crore for the whole year.In FY24, centres net tax revenues had risen by 14.5%, non-tax revenues expanded by 40.8%. For FY25, it is estimatedthat the fiscal deficit target will be much lower than last yearat 5.1% of GDP
Indias external position in FY24 remained strong with tradedeficit narrowing down to US$ 78.1 bn from US$ 121.6bn inFY23. This was supported by contraction in imports growthwhich occurred at a much faster pace than exports. Importsgrowth declined by 5.4% after increasing by 16.8% in FY23and this was led by lower oil imports, down by 14.1%. On theother hand, exports growth contracted down by 3.1% in FY24against a growth of 6.9% last year. On the currency front,INR ended lower by 1.5% in FY24 against a depreciation of7.8% in FY23. Dollar index during this period strengthenedby 1.9%.
On monetary policy front, RBI has kept the policy rate andthe stance unchanged in the first policy for FY25. It has alsoretained its growth and inflation projections for FY25 at 7%and 4.5% respectively. We expect the economy to clock agrowth of 7.5-7.8% for the same period.
Developments in Indian Banking
In FY24, Indias 10Y yield fell by 17 bps to 7.16% and the entireyield curve witnessed considerable flattening in the year. Theentire yield curve shifted downwards with significant correctionhappening towards the long part of the curve due to buoyantdemand conditions, especially higher flows of FPI in the debtsegment. On liquidity front, in FY24, RBI had conductedliquidity management exercise through VRR and VRRR. Creditgrowth for SCBs continued to expand in double digit, growingby 16.3% as of Mar 2024 (excluding merger) from 15% lastyear. It had also grown at a much faster pace than depositgrowth (12.9% from 9.6% in the previous year). The weightedaverage domestic term deposit rates of SCBs on fresh depositsduring the year had risen by 14bps (from 6.48% as of March2023 to 6.62% as of March 2024). Weighted average lendingrates of SCBs on fresh rupee loans also rose, to 9.37% as ofMarch 2024 compared to 9.32% as of March 2023.
The higher pace of growth, led to tighter liquidity conditions inH2FY24 and it moved to deficit from surplus. On an average system liquidity deficit was 11,012 crore in FY24 from 1.6lakh crore in FY23. RBI had raised the incremental CRR to10% back in Aug23, this was on incremental deposits overMay19 when the withdrawal/exchange of 2000 note wasannounced. The objective of this step was to impound thesurplus liquidity in the system.
In Nov23, RBI had raised the capital norms for bank loans,specifically towards personal loans and NBFCs. The riskweight norms were hiked by 25 percentage points with theobjective to rein in the growth in unsecured loans as well ascredit cards.
RBI in the Financial Stability Report for Dec23 noted thehealth of the financial sector continues to be steady amidstsustained growth in bank credit, adequate capital, liquiditybuffers, strong earnings, and lower NPAs. Balance sheets ofboth corporate and banking sector also strengthened andthis is prompting a new investment and credit cycle. Apartfrom this, stress tests results indicate that even under severestress scenario, capital reserves of SCBs are expected toremain adequate and GNPA ratios are also likely to inch uponly marginally. The macro stress tests conducted in the FSRnotes that the system-level CRAR in Sep24 is expected tobe at 14.8 per cent (baseline), and would deteriorate to 12.2(severe stress). The GNPA ratio of SCBs under the baselinescenario is expected at 3.1% and is expected to rise to 4.4%under the severe stress scenario. The results of the macrostress test revealed that Indian banks are well capitalizedto handle any macroeconomic shocks, without requiringadditional capital infusion.
EASE
The PSBs Reforms Agenda was launched as EnhancedAccess and Service Excellence (EASE) in January 2018. Theinitial set of EASE reforms, EASE 1.0, EASE 2.0, and EASE3.0 supported capacity building in multiple areas of banking- such as the Introduction of digital-first reforms such as "Dial-a-Loan", "Credit @ Click", technology, analytics, asset qualityimprovement, outcome-centric HR, and overall governance.These reforms had a significant contribution to increasingperformance, transparency, and accountability across thebanking landscape.
The fourth edition of EASE 4.0 focused mainly on smartlending backed by analytics; 24x7 banking with resilienttechnology and cloud-based IT systems; data-enabledagriculture financing; and collaborating with the financialecosystem.
The EASE 5.0 agenda mainly focusses on Enhancing DigitalCustomer Experience, Data-driven Integrated and InclusiveBanking with emphasis on supporting small businesses andagriculture. Further, EASE 5.0 continues to drive progress inongoing agendas such as co-lending partnerships, mobilebanking enhancements, payments in semi-urban and ruralareas, cloud adoption, digital marketing improvementthrough Search Engine Optimization and deepening financialinclusion.
In EASE 5.0 index, Bank has secured 3rd position in FY 23 among all the Public Sector Banks.
The action points under each phase of EASE Programmeenvisaged deep-rooted transformation in approach andbuilding new capabilities in PSBs.
EASE reforms agenda has contributed immensely towardsthe Banks journey in achieving efficiency and ease ofoperations in almost all areas of operations, helping inproviding an enhanced experience to its customers.
EASE 6.0
EASE 6.0 focuses mainly on driving excellence in customerservice with digital enablement, Digital and analytics-driven business improvement, Tech and data-enabledcapability building and developing people and enhancingHR Operations. EASE 6.0 is broadly divided into -4- themesconsisting of a total of 22 Action Points.
Under EASE 6.0, Bank has -
• Launched Digital Lending Journey for Retail gold loanand KCC journeys through the jansamarth portal.
• Introduced new functionalities in QMS and promotedthe usage of QMS
• Introduced new services for MSME & NRI customers inMobile Banking and Internet Banking platforms.
• Enhanced the Banks CRM module to improve thecustomer experience and speed up the resolution ofcomplaints.
• Enhanced the services provided at call centre viz.,providing responses for basic inquiries of the customersthrough IVR.
• Developed a deceased claim portal to settle thedeceased claims through digital mode for customerconvenience and improvement in TAT.
• Launched various bundled products with additionalfeatures in both savings and current segments.
• Various initiatives undertaken by the bank in successionplanning and leadership development.
• Launched HR connect mobile application for employees.
All through the past 6 years, EASE reform agenda hascontributed immensely towards the PSBs journey inachieving efficiency and ease of operations in almost all areasof operations, helping the Banks in providing an enhancedexperience to the customers.
EASE Next (Pillar - II):
Bank-specific 3-year roadmap program: Creation of bank-specific three-year strategic roadmaps, conceptualizedto each banks starting position and business priorities, toenable reforms above and beyond the common reformagenda.
Strategic 3-Year Roadmap: As a part of EASENexts secondpillar, the 3-year strategic roadmap is conceptualised. Theprogram has been designed with a view to encourage banks
to adopt transformational initiatives that go beyond thecommon reform agenda.
For this purpose, 46 wide-ranging financial and non-financialmetrics have been identified. Each bank will identify short-term and long-term targets for each metric, and identifyinitiatives to drive improvement in these metrics.
Operating Performance & Key Ratios
The highlights of operating performance of the bank are asbelow:
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Interest Earned | 89,588.54 | 1,12,605.94 |
| Interest Expended | 48,232.53 | 67,884.41 |
| Net Interest Income (NII) | 41,356.01 | 44,721.53 |
| Other Income | 10,025.84 | 14,495.37 |
| Trading Gains | 1,062.50 | 1,491.93 |
| Operating Income (NII +Other Income) | 51,381.58 | 59,216.90 |
| Operating Expenses | 24,518.31 | 28,251.68 |
| Employee Expenses | 13,357.33 | 15,816.00 |
| Other Operating Expenses | 11,160.98 | 12,435.68 |
| Operating Profit | 26,863.54 | 30,965.22 |
| Provisions (Other than Tax) | 7,136.90 | 6,075.61 |
| of which-Provisions for NPAsand Bad debts written off | 4,350.52 | 6,470.86 |
| Provision for StandardAdvances | 527.50 | -688.51 |
| Provision for Depreciation onInvestment | 1,704.03 | -31.26 |
| Other Provisions | 554.85 | 324.52 |
| Profit Before Tax | 19,726.64 | 24,889.61 |
| Provision for Tax | 5,617.02 | 7,100.83 |
| Net Profit | 14,109.62 | 17,788.78 |
Net Interest Income of the Bank increased to 44,722 crorein FY 2024 from 41,356 crore in FY 2023, grew by 8.1% on aYoY basis. The Interest Income increased to 1,12,606 crorein FY 2024 by registering a growth of 25.7% on a YoY basis.The Interest Expense stood at 67,884 crore in FY 2024 whichwas at 48,233 crore in FY 2023.
Other Income of the Bank increased to 14,495 crore inFY 2024 which was at 10,026 crore in FY 2023, therebyregistered a growth of 44.6% on a YoY basis. Operatingexpenses of the Bank stood at 28,252 crore in FY 2024 ascompared with 24,518 crore in FY 2023. Operating Incomeof the Bank increased to 59,217 crore in FY 2024 from51,382 crore in FY 2023, registered a growth of 15.2% ona YoY basis.
Total provisions (other than tax) and contingencies declined
to 6,076 crore during FY 2024 from 7,137 crore during FY2023. Provisions for Non- Performing Assets (NPA) was at6,471 crore in FY 2024 which was at 4,351 crore in FY2023.
The Bank reported a Net Profit of 17,789 crore in FY 2024from 14,110 crore in FY 2023, grew by 26.1% on a YoY basis.The Operating profit of the Bank grew by 15.3% at 30,965crore in FY 2024 as compared with 26,864 crore in FY 2023.
Key Ratios
| Key Ratios | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Cost of Deposits - Global (%) | 3.89 | 4.92 |
| Cost of Deposits - Domestic(%) | 4.09 | 4.97 |
| Cost of Deposits - International(%) | 2.37 | 4.57 |
| Yield on Advances - Global(%) | 7.54 | 8.53 |
| Yield on Advances (Domestic)(%) | 8.25 | 9.01 |
| Yield on Advances(International) (%) | 4.21 | 6.34 |
| Net Interest Margin - Global(%) | 3.31 | 3.18 |
| Net Interest Margin - Domestic(%) | 3.42 | 3.32 |
| Net Interest Margin -International (%) | 1.94 | 1.97 |
| Cost-Income Ratio (%) | 47.72 | 47.71 |
| Return on Average Assets(ROAA) (%) | 1.03 | 1.17 |
| Return on Equity (%) | 18.34 | 18.95 |
Cost of deposit (global) stood at 4.92% and Yield on Advances(global) improved to 8.53% in FY 2024. Net Interest Margin(NIM) global stood at 3.18% and NIM domestic stood at3.32% in FY 2024. Cost to income ratio stood at 47.71% in FY2024 decreased by 1 bps as compared with FY 2023. Returnon Assets for FY 2024 improved by 14 bps to 1.17% in FY2024 from 1.03% in FY 2023, reflects excellent performance inprofitability. Return on Equity increased by 61 bps to 18.95%in FY2024 from 18.34% in FY 2023.
Resource Mobilisation
| SL ParticularsNo | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| I Total Deposits | 12,03,688 | 13,26,958 |
| II International Deposits | 1,56,313 | 1,98,444 |
| III Total CASA | 4,75,097 | 5,14,366 |
| IV Total Current AccountDeposits | 1,04,001 | 1,20,411 |
| SL ParticularsNo | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| V Total Savings BankDeposits | 3,71,096 | 3,93,956 |
| VI Global CASA % | 39.47 | 38.76 |
| VII Domestic Deposits | 10,47,375 | 11,28,515 |
| VIII Domestic CASADeposits | 4,42,511 | 4,66,401 |
| IX Dom. Current AccountDeposits | 75,111 | 76,386 |
| X Dom. Savings BankDeposits | 3,67,400 | 3,90,014 |
| XI Domestic CASA toDomestic Deposits (%) | 42.25 | 41.33 |
Total Deposit of the Bank increased to 13,26,958 croreduring FY 2024 from 12,03,688 crore during FY 2023,there by recorded a growth of 10.20 % during the period.The International Deposit of the Bank also increased to1,98,444 crore as on 31.03.2024 from 1,56,313 crore ason 31.03.2023, recording a robust growth of 26.95 % on aYoY basis.
The global CASA of the bank increased to 5,14,366 croreas on 31st March 2024 from the level of 4,75,097 crore ason 31st March 2023, registered a growth of 8.27% on a YoYbasis. The global current deposit of the bank increased to1,20,411 crore as on 31st March 2024 from 1,04,001 croreas on 31st March 2023, marked a growth of 15.78 % on a YoYbasis. The global Savings deposit of the bank increased to3,93,956 crore as on 31st March 2024 from 3,71,096 croreas on 31st March 2023, recorded a growth of 6.16% duringthe period. The global CASA % to global deposit stood at38.76% during the period.
Domestic Deposits and Domestic CASA
Domestic Deposit of the Bank increased to 11,28,514 croreas on 31.03.2024 from 10,47,375 crore as on 31.03.2023,registering a growth of 7.75 % during the period.
Banks domestic CASA deposits increased by 5.40% and roseto 4,66,401 crore as on March 31, 2024. Banks DomesticCASA ratio to the domestic deposit stood at 41.33% during FY2024. Current Account deposits registered growth of 1.70%and reached to 76,386 crore, while Savings Bank depositsreached to 3,90,014 crore with an increase of 6.15% as on31.03.2024.
Low-cost deposit mobilization initiatives
During FY 2024, Bank opened 91.85 Lakhs new CASAaccounts. Within this, the thrust was for opening of accountsin paperless mode using VCIP & TAB mode. Bank launchedinnovative & cutting-edge SB & CA Products viz. 3 new SBAccount bob LITE, bob BRO, bob NRI Power Pack, 7 NewCurrent Account bob Lite Current Account, bob WomenPower Current Account, bob Smart Current Account, bobGold Current account, bob Platinum Current Account, bobRhodium Current Account, bob Diamond Current Account.
Bank also revamped existing CA & Salary SB accounts andgiven extensive focus in acquiring new accounts.
Special emphasis was placed on increasing the penetrationof key CASA enablers, which include POS systems, QR codeswith sound boxes, IP and BCMS. Additionally, efforts weremade to activate dormant accounts, initiate DEAF activations,and funding of zero balance accounts.
On the digital front, the Bank has significantly increasedclient acquisition through various digital channels such asVCIP and TAB mode. During the FY-2024, the Bank opened1,02,299 VCIP SB Accounts and 33,799 B3-Digital Accounts.Bank opened 2,44,582 Current Accounts in FY-2024; ofwhich 82.11 % (2,00,844) accounts opened through TABmode. Furthermore, 55,93,991 Non-FI SB Account openedin FY 2024; of which 66.92 % (37,43,914) accounts openedthrough TAB mode.
The Bank introduced the bob Parivar Concept, "My Family,My Bank," which extends a range of benefits to familymembers. This initiative includes tiered offerings for PremiumCustomers, segmenting them based on their CASA balancesinto three categories: RISE, Shine, and Sparkle. Sparklecustomers receive personalized services through assignedpersonal Relationship Managers to build strong connect andimprovise the banking services.
Banks integration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs Portalfor opening Current Accounts of newly formed companies hasresulted in the opening of a total of 5,186 current accounts.
Bank has established a dedicated Defence Banking Vertical,which is headed by a Chief Defence Banking Advisor, aretired Lieutenant General. This vertical is further supportedby Deputy Defence Banking Advisors who are posted at keylocations to effectively penetrate the Defence segment.
Bank is leading in providing Doorstep Banking Servicesthrough the PSB Alliance Doorstep Banking Servicesinitiative. During FY 2024, the Bank successfully completed35,494 Doorstep Banking services.
Baroda Cash Management Services
The Banks Cash Management Services business, BarodaDigiNext, which provides a wide range of Omni-channeldigital solutions for Corporate and Government customers tomanage their cash flows and liquidity, has witnessed rapidgrowth over the last three years. This solution is utilized bykey Government Departments as well as Corporate Entitiesfor managing their Collections. Baroda DigiNext alsooffers integrated and paperless payment solutions to bothgovernment and corporate customers. The Solution providesvaluable real-time information on all receipts, includingelectronic payments, cheques, and cash deposits at allbranches.
In FY 2023-24, Baroda Cash Management Services continuedto rapidly expand its footprint, acquiring over 2,600 newrelationships. More than 9,000 large customers are utilizingthe Banks Cash Management Services, executing over 8Crore transactions during the year.
Credit Expansion
The Global Gross advance of the bank increased to10,90,506 crore during FY 2024 from 9,69,548 crore duringFY 2023, thereby registering a growth of 12.5% on YoY basis.The gross domestic advance increased to 8,98,116 crore ason 31st March 2024 from 7,95,560 crore as on 31st March2023, there by marked a growth of 12.9% during the period.The international gross advance of the bank increased to1,92,390 crore during FY 2024, from 1,73,988 crore duringFY 2023, there by registered a robust growth of 10.6% on aYoY basis.
| Credit Portfolio of the Bank | |||
| Segment | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | YoY (%) |
| Retail* | 1,78,037 | 2,14,942 | 20.7 |
| Agriculture | 1,24,247 | 1,38,640 | 11.6 |
| MSME* | 1,08,196 | 1,19,415 | 10.4 |
| Corporate | 3,40,408 | 3,79,747 | 11.6 |
| Others | 44,672 | 45,372 | 1.6 |
| Gross DomesticAdvances | 7,95,560 | 8,98,116 | 12.9 |
| International GrossAdvances | 1,73,988 | 1,92,390 | 10.6 |
| Global GrossAdvances | 9,69,548 | 10,90,506 | 12.5 |
*Ex-pool purchase (Organic)
The growth in Advance portfolio was led by Retail Advance(organic) which increased to 2,14,942 crore grew by 20.7%,Agriculture advance which increased to 1,38,640 crore grewby 11.6%, MSME (organic) segment which rose to 1,19,415crore by 10.4%, on a YoY basis in FY 2024. The retail advanceincluding pool purchase was at 2,23,911 crore and MSMEincluding pool purchase was at 1,25,899 crore as on31.03.2024.
Corporate Loan of the Bank increased to 3,79,747 crore inFY 2024 from 3,40,408 crore in FY 2023, grew by 11.6% onYoY basis.
The Bank has successfully implemented many initiativesto improve its Advance Portfolio with the help of DigitalBanking across segments like Retail, Corporate, Priority,MSME, Agriculture etc. Bank has launched Digital EducationLoan for Executive Development Program (EDP) of PremierInstitutes in India through Digital Lending Platform. Bankhas launched a full-fledged Branch Officer Assisted Journeyfor Digital Personal Loans to conduct the end to end digitaljourney, which also facilitate the branches to support atdifferent stages of the customer self- service journey. InMSME segment, Bank has integrated JanSamarth Portal withinternal loan processing systems to provide, End- To- EndDigital Mudra loans upto 10 lakh. In Agri portfolio, Bank haslaunched Digital Journey for Gold Loan to provide superiorbanking experience to the customers. Bank has launcheddigital process for renewal of BKCC loans. The Bank has
also conducted many campaigns and marketing activitiesat Head Office, Zonal, Regional and branch level to attractnew customers in our fold. The continues focus on BranchBanking and Digital Banking together helped the Bank toexpand its Advance Portfolio across the sectors during FY2024.
Corporate Credit
Corporate credit in the Bank is serviced through 33 specializedCorporate Financial Services (CFS) & Mid Corporate branches(MCB) which manage approximately 90% of the total standardcorporate credit portfolio of the Bank. The corporate creditportfolio of the Bank increased to 3,79,747 crore in FY2024 ascompared with 3,40,408 Crore in FY 2023 there by recorded agrowth rate of 11.6% on a YoY basis.
| Credit Rating Distribution* | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| A and above | 86% | 90% |
| BBB | 7% | 5% |
| Below BBB | 3% | 3% |
| Unrated | 4% | 2% |
*External Rating Distribution of Domestic Advances above50 crore
Total portfolio comprising of A & above in FY 2024 was 90%asagainst 86% in FY 2023.
Corporate Banking - Revamped Structure
During the year bank has continued with its strategy to focuson Mid Corporate Advances, through -4- Mid CorporateClusters located at strategic locations i.e. New Delhi (North),Chennai (South), Mumbai (West) and Kolkata (East) and MidCorporate Branches tagged to them.
Target Market approach
The Bank follows a target market approach which has thefollowing features:
• Identification of industries / sectors for growth basedon industry outlook i.e. the combined output of variousindustry parameters including market size, growth,demand-supply outlook, cost structure, competition,financial performance, government policies andinvestment outlay.
• Sector-wise business plan for target market lending,based on exposure caps, existing exposures and furtherappetite for fresh acquisitions.
• Detailed account planning with structured callingplans for meetings, identifying business opportunities,approval and closure.
• Execution of the business plan under target marketapproach through dedicated relationship managersacross the Bank.
• The Bank focuses on overall yield from the customerrather than interest income by offering ancillary serviceslike supply chain finance, value chain finance, CMS
facility and other retail products.
MSME Credit
The MSME portfolio of the Bank (excluding TWO, includingpool purchase) increased to 1,25,899 crore in FY 2024 from1,14,918 crore in FY 2023, registered a growth of 9.56% ona YoY basis. During the year, the Bank has taken the followinginitiatives to augment MSME business with improved assetquality.
1. Formation of 330 specialized MSME Branches withexclusive team.
2. Digitalization of MSME loan journey through the state ofart "Tejas "Platform.
3. Enhanced focus on emerging product segments leadingto overachievement of Target.
• CV/CME segment achieved 116% of the target witha YOY growth of 67%.
• TreDs has achieved 194% of the target with a YOYgrowth of 173%.
• Supply Chain Finance has achieved 149% of thetarget with a YOY growth of 53%.
4. Incremental acquisition of CMR 1 to 3 accounts thusimproving asset quality. It has grown from 52% in FY23to 585 in FY24.
Additionally, Bank has achieved almost all the Target underthe following key Government schemes-
1. 100% under PMMY Scheme.
2. 99.82% under Standup India.
3. 95.58 % under PM Svanidhi scheme (Disbursementagainst the applications received).
Retail Credit
The Retail Asset of the Bank (excluding TWO, including poolpurchase) increased to 2,23,911 crore in FY 2024 from1,87,688 crore in FY 2023, registered a growth of 19.30%on a YoY basis. The organic Retail Loans increased to2,14,942 crore in FY 2024 from 1,78,037 crore in FY 2023,an increase of 20.73% over the previous year. Retail Assetsorganic portfolio constitutes 23.95% (excluding LABOD andStaff Loan) of domestic Advances as on 31st March 2024.
Retail portfolio (organic) of the Bank
| Retail Credit Portfolio of the Bank | |||
| Segment | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | YoY (%) |
| Home Loans* | 98,014 | 1,11,791 | 14.1 |
| Auto Loans* | 31,261 | 38,697 | 23.8 |
| Mortgages Loan* | 16,801 | 18,715 | 11.4 |
| Education Loans | 8,196 | 9,800 | 19.6 |
| Personal Loans | 19,645 | 29,784 | 51.6 |
| Gold Loans | 2,420 | 4,546 | 87.9 |
| Others | 1,700 | 1,608 | (5.4) |
| TOTAL RETAIL CREDIT | 1,78,037 | 2,14,942 | 20.7 |
*Ex-pool purchase (Organic & Excl. TWO)
The key highlights of retail business in FY 2024 include:
Retail Loan advance share as percentage of total domesticloan book increased to 23.93% in FY 2024 from 22.37% inFY 2023
To ensure customer convenience and eliminating the needfor physical documentation and branch visit, During the FY24 8728 Crore of Personal Loan, 386 Crore of Auto Loan, 38 Crore of Top Up Loan, 21 Crore of Education Loan and8.00 Crore of Pension Loan disbursed through end-to-enddigital journey.
During FY 2024 fresh 1427119 Retail loan Accountssanctioned amounting of 86,829 Crore
Auto Loan, Personal Loan & Total Retail Loan portfolio hasshown excellent growth of 23.79%, 51.61% and 20.73%respectively and surpassed industry growth rate.
The bank has helped students to realise their dreams bydistributing education loans amounting to 2844 Crore Outof this 41% of disbursed amount were extended to Femalestudents.
Banks Loan Origination system was integrated with JanSamarth portal of Government of India for faster sanctioningof rooftop solar loans under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.
The GNPA in Retail Loan Portfolio (Exc. Pool and LABOD)decreased substantially from 1.50% in March 2023 to 1.20%in March 2024.
Bank has outpaced industry growth in Auto Loan, PersonalLoan and Total Retail Advances.
The GNPA in Home Loan reduced from 1.56% in FY2023 to
0.98% in FY2024 through proactive monitoring and best inclass underwriting.
In FY2023-2024 bank has disbursed 29463 Crore & 17733Crore in Home Loan and Auto Loan respectively.
In Home Loan 101141, Auto Loan 173592, Education Loan25791 and in Personal Loan 811426 new customers addedin FY24.
Digitization of end-to-end process in Personal Loan, AutoLoan, Education Loan, Pension Loan, Home loan Top-up .
Strengthening collaboration with Corporate DSA, DSTChannel, BCs for leads.
New Referral DSA channel was started (RDSA) and portal forsubmission of leads by RDSA launched.
Continuation of Retention strategy and cross-selling forHome, Mortgage loan and Auto Loan customers who areapproaching other Bank.
Fixed ROI option introduced in all schemes of Baroda CarLoan
Aligned our products as per market trends and needs.
Implementation of revamped structure for processing &sanction of mortgage-based Retail Loans in RAPCs.
Education Loan ROI aligned in 98 identified institutes foroverseas study.
Project Approval module implemented in LLPS.
Revised ELSC structure implemented on Pan India.
"MO GHARA" scheme implemented under GovernmentHousing Assistance in Rural Areas scheme in Odisha State.
Education Loan ROI for premier & scholar scheme alignedwith market.
Fixed ROI option introduced under Personal Loan.
Introduction of Fixed Rate option for new as well asexisting borrowers in Mortgage Loan as well as Future RentReceivables.
Introduction of Fixed Rate for Baroda pre-Owned Cars and-2- wheeler loans.
Fixed Rate option is introduced for existing as well as newEducation Loan Accounts.
Introduction of Fixed Rate of Interest option in Home Loans.
PM Surya Ghar Yojana- Standalone and composite rooftopsolar schemes were launched.
CERSAI Finacle API integration completed.
Business Partners i.e. DSAs & DSTs were provided a mobileapplication named Lead force App for quicker submission ofleads into the Banks loan processing system.
Auto review functionality was implemented for Auto loans& Personal Loan to improve the operational efficiency andproductivity of branches.
Rural and Agricultural Lending
Agriculture & its allied sectors, is the largest livelihoodprovider in India particularly in the vast rural areas and italso contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP).
Bank has a network of 8,243 domestic branches, of which4,966 rural and semi urban branches are leveraged fully forpriority sector and agriculture lending. The Banks agricultureadvances increased to 1,38,640 crore as on 31st March2024 forming about 15% of the gross domestic credit.
Bank is the convener of State Level Bankers Committee(SLBC) in 3 states i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthanand Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC) in theUnion Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman andDiu. Bank also shoulders the Lead Bank responsibility in 75districts across the country.
Bank continues to be one of the leaders in lending toagriculture sector, which received an impetus with theGovernments vision of "Atmanirbhar Bharat". The Bankhas moved beyond granting simple farm based credit to amore diversified rural lending strategy to encourage capitalgeneration to farmers and build a robust infrastructure inagriculture and Animal Husbandry. We are also focusingmore on newly introduced products such as Agriculture
Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Animal Husbandry InfrastructureDevelopment Fund Scheme (AHIDF), PM Formalisation ofMicro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME), Pradhan MantriKisan Urja Suraksha Evem Utthan Mahabhiyan Scheme (PMKusum), Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana Scheme(PMMSY) and compressed biogas products.
Bank continues to focus on its flagship products like KCC,Financing to Self Help Groups (SHGs), Agri Gold Loans,Farm mechanisation (Tractor loans), Horticulture loans,Financing to Farmer Producer Organization / Farmerproducer company (FPO/FPC), Hi-tech Agriculture and Foodand agro-processing. During the year, the Bank has issued4.59 lakh new Kisan Credit Card (KCC) of which 1.18 lakh areAnimal Husbandry and Dairy (AHD) KCC issued to farmersengaged in animal husbandry and fisheries activities. As partof its microfinance initiatives, Bank has credit linked 1,13,726SHGs by granting loans amounting to 4,105 crore duringFY 2024.
Bank is pursuing tie ups with various private partners toenhance credit linkage of SHGs. Bank has also introducedTAB banking facility, to improve Turnaround Time and toenable hassle free instant Savings Bank Account openingfor SHGs. In Tractor loans, rate of interest has been linkedwith LTV of Tractor for the convenience of farmers. DuringFY 2023-24, Bank has introduced "Baroda Kisan Pride" newproduct for the large farmers for scientific and progressivemethods of farming for high yielding crops. Our Bank is apartner in the development of the digital KCC journey, on theJan Samarth portal, initiated by the Government of India.
Bank had introduced Centre for Agriculture marketing andProcessing (CAMP), a dedicated centralized centres forprocessing of agriculture loans with a special focus on non-traditional and high value Agri advances at its various zonesand regions. During FY 2023-24, CAMP has sanctioned loansto 34,678 farmers, amounting to 3,601 Cr.
"BARODA KISAN PAKHWADA" is Our Banks annual farmeroutreach programme which is observed every year. During"BARODA KISAN PAKHWADA", Branches of our Bankorganize various functions/ events of SHG/ health check-upsof live stocks /Soil Testing and other activities/ meetings toreach out to maximum number of farmers. During FY 2023-24"BARODA KISAN PAKHWADA" was observed from 16.11.2023to 30.11.2023 and we have conducted 12165 farmer outreachprogrammes and connected 468207 farmers.
Priority Sector Lending
Average Priority sector advances of the bank increased to 3,01,917 crore during FY 2024 from 2,73,583 crore as of FY2023 and registered YoY growth of 10.36%.
Advances to SC/ST Communities
The outstanding advances to Scheduled Caste/ ScheduledTribe (SC/ST) communities went up to 21,106 crore as of31st March 2024. The SC/ST communities accounted for17.57% share in total advances granted to weaker sectionsby the Bank.
Further, special thrust is given by the Bank in financing SC/ST
communities under various Government sponsored schemessuch as National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), MUDRALoan, Startup India and Stand-Up India.
Gold Loan
Banks gold loan portfolio increased to 47,629 crores, as on31st March 2024, from 38,518 crores, on 31st March 2023,registering a growth of 23.65%. Within gold loan portfolio,Agriculture gold loans grew by 19.79%, reaching 42,921crore (excluding TWO) in FY 2024 from 35,829 crore in FY2023. Retail gold loan increased to 4,552 (including TWO)crore in FY 2024 from 2,419 crore in FY 2023, registering agrowth of 88.16%. During the year, the Bank has added 86new gold loan disbursing branches, taking the total numberof Gold Loan designated branches to 5,990 in FY 2024 from5,904 branches in FY 2023. The increase in spread of Goldloan designated branches across the country with share ofgeographies other than southern parts stands at 28.53% inFY 2024 as compared to 27.11% in FY 2023. Average ticketsize of a gold loan increased to 1.74 lakhs in FY 2024 from1.58 lakhs FY 2023. Average amount of gold loan perbranch increased to 7.95 crore in FY 2024 from 6.52 crorein FY 2023. Credit quality of the Gold Loan portfolio remainedhealthy, with a GNPA ratio of 0.20% as on 31st March 2024.
Financial Inclusion (FI)
In order to provide universal banking services to all sectionsof the society especially to rural, semi-urban and urban poorat an affordable cost, Bank has taken financial inclusion as asocial commitment and also an opportunity to tap businessthrough BC model. The Bank has been actively workingtowards ensuring financial inclusion in the country throughits branches and BC network. With the advent of technology,innovative steps are being taken for serving the unbankedareas. Bank expanded its BC network to 54,345 as on March31, 2024 to cater to rural, semi urban, urban & metro areasacross the country. Bank took the following initiatives towardspromoting financial inclusion:
• Introduced Online Loan Lead portal for BCs.
• Launched opening of Non-BSBD Account at BC Point.
• Launched Android based BC Inspection App for monthlyinspection of BC points by officials of the Bank and BCSupervisors.
• As a risk mitigation measure voice over in Bilingual forevery transaction was introduced at BC points.
• Opened 82 additional Center for Financial Literacy (CFL)over and above the existing 114 CFLs.
• Introduction of Fixed Incentive to BusinessCorrespondents.
• Standardization of BC Working Hours - 8:00 AM to 8:00PM
Performance highlights under financial inclusion duringFY 2023-24:
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accountsincreased to 616 lakhs in March 2024 from 585 lakhs inMarch 2023 with YoY growth of 5.29%.
• PMJDY deposits increased to 32,337 Crore as onMarch 2024 from 27,531 Crore as on March 2023 withYoY growth of 17.46%.
• The Banks share among PSBs stood at 15.20% inPMJDY accounts and 17.69% for deposits in PMJDYaccounts, second highest only after SBI.
• Zero balance PMJDY accounts of the Bank reduced to4.98% as on 31st March 2024 as against 5.22% as on31st March 2023.
• As on 31st March 2024, Micro Insurance enrolmentunder PMJJBY scheme is 70.44 lakhs and under PMSBYscheme is 253.84 lakhs.
Performance of RRBs sponsored by Bank of Baroda
The Bank sponsors three Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)namely Baroda U.P Bank, Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya GraminBank and Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank in the state of UttarPradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat respectively. The aggregatebusiness of these three RRBs increased to 1,67,173 crore ason 31st March 2024 from 1,48,737 crore as on 31st March2023 i.e. 12.39 % on YoY basis. These RRBs together posteda net profit of 1,121.36 crore during FY 2024, increased by56.06 % as compared with net profit of 718.54 crore duringFY 2023. The net worth of these RRBs put together improvedto 6,887 crore as of 31st March 2024 from the level of 5,704 crore as of 31st March 2023.
Awards received by RRBs.
Our three sponsored RRBs put together bagged 43 topperforming awards (BGGB -12, BUPB - 19, BRKGB - 12) undervarious campaigns launched for enrolment of Atal PensionYojna from Pension Fund Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority (PFRDA).
Baroda U. P. Bank (BUPB) has received the award fromHonble President of India in New Delhi on 05.11.2023 foroutstanding performance under PMFME category amongstall RRBs in India and award from Honble Deputy ChiefMinister of Uttar Pradesh on 24.11.2023 for the ExcellentPerformance under SHG category.
Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank (BRKGB) hasbegged seven prestigious awards in the Annual TechnologyAwards ceremony organized by IBA on 09th February, 2024 inthe following categories;
1. Technology Bank of the Year (for consecutive Nine year)
2. Best Financial Inclusion (for consecutive Fifth year)
3. Best Fintech & DPIU Adoption
4. Best Digital Engagement
5. Technology Talent (Runner)
6. Best IT Risk Management (Special Mention Category)
7. Best AI / ML Bank (Special Mention Category)
• Won 2 awards in IBEX India BFSI Tech awards.
1. Best Technology Bank.
2. Excellence in Financial Inclusion (for RRBs/ SmallFinance Bank/ Coop Bank category).
• National Award for outstanding performance in SHGBank Linkage 2022-23 in Northern Region.
• Top Performer in RRB Category PAN India Level underBHARAT Campaign (15.07.2023 to 31.08.2023) for AIFScheme.
Baroda Gujarat Gramin Bank (BGGB) has begged twoprestigious awards in the Annual Technology Awardsceremony organized by IBA on 09th February, 2024 in thefollowing categories.
1. Best Technology Talent (Special Mention Category)
2. Best Technology Bank (Special Mention Category)Stressed Asset Management
The Bank believes that continuous day-to-day monitoring isthe first step towards reduction in non-performing loans and inensuring good recovery. For this, the Bank undertook varioussteps and formulated strategies to augment recoveries andreduce slippages.
Bank has strategies to touch each and every NPA accountin a scientific manner. Hence Bank has having special skillset under an Apex Vertical ‘Stressed Assets ManagementVertical, at Corporate Office. In this vertical -5- Stressed AssetsBranches (SAM) were set up with special skill set to caterall accounts under National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT),-12- Stressed Assets Recovery Branches (SARB Branch) atzonal level were established to handle NPA accounts otherthan NCLT with outstanding balance above 5 crore. TheseBranches are under direct supervision of corporate office toreduce TAT Further -69- Regional Stressed Assets RecoveryBranches (ROSARB Branch) at Region level were establishedto handle NPA accounts with outstanding balance above 20lacs to 5 crore.
Under Govt of India Digital Initiative, Bank has taken severalsteps for end-to-end digitalization of the entire recovery andmonitoring procedure without paper movement and RealTime basis. In this connection,
1. "QLICK" It picks several data points from FINACLE on realtime basis without manual intervention and calculatesDays Past Due (DPD) Report, NPA Movement Chart andMock Runs - for forecasting daily degradations.
2. "ILMS" Mobile app and Desktop based portal which isan online repository of entire NPA A/Cs irrespective ofamount. It provides online 360-degree live monitoringof accounts without any manual intervention, likeSARFAESI status, DRT/NCLT status, Provisioning, DailyRecovery, lawyers performance analysis and onlinesubmission/ sanction of OTS proposals it reduced theTAT.
3. Bank is member of e-Bkray portal which is being usedfor auction of properties under Securitization andReconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest Act (SARFAESI).
4. Under EASE 4.0 guidelines, the Bank have developedand deployed automated "One Time Settlement"procedure by providing separate link on Banks websiteto ensure early disposal of small ticket size NPAaccounts.
Bank also adopted the following strategies for recoveriesand reduce slippages.
1. To have a proper monitoring of the portfolio of Agriculture,MSME and Retail Loans we have taken a cluster / areaapproach with dedicated recovery officers.
2. Proper allocation of small NPA accounts to RecoveryAgents / Feet on Street to be done by Portfolio Managersat ZO/RO level and properly monitoring them.
3. Arranging the National Lok-Adalats & Introducing thePre Lok-Adalat meetings for maximum participation ofborrower during the Lok Adalats.
4. Bank has initiate the SARFAESI action in all eligibleNPA accounts and continue the action till conclusion /disposal of asset & recovery in the account. We are alsolisting/ publishing the auction property details on Bankswebsite, Newspaper, Radio, social media web portalsand as well as leading property web sites.
The movement of NPAs during the last two years is as under:
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Gross NPA | 36764 | 31834 |
| Gross NPA (%) | 3.79% | 2.92% |
| Net NPA | 8384 | 7213 |
| Net NPA (%) | 0.89% | 0.68% |
| Additions to NPAs | 11150 | 10397 |
| Recovery/ Upgradations | 10100 | 4729 |
| Write offs including TWOs | 17998 | 10518 |
| Recoveries in write off accounts | 4781 | 5098 |
| Provisional Coverage Ratio(including TWO) (%) | 92.43% | 93.30% |
| Provisional Coverage Ratio(excluding TWO) (%) | 77.19% | 77.34% |
As per asset classification, the bifurcation of loan book is asgiven below:
| Asset Category | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Standard Advances | 932784 | 1058672 |
| Gross NPA | 36764 | 31834 |
| Total Gross Advances | 969548 | 1090506 |
| Gross NPAs comprising | ||
| Sub-standard | 5439 | 7816 |
| Doubtful | 19182 | 13118 |
| Loss | 12143 | 10900 |
| Total Gross NPA | 36764 | 31834 |
Bank believes in Nation Building by extending hands tostressed entrepreneurs through restructuring as per RBIguidelines.
In order to address the large number of small NPA accounts,Bank had launched in FY2024 its special One-TimeSettlement (OTS) scheme "Vasooli Sankalp" for settlementof unsecured NPA (DBII/DBIII/Loss) /TWO/ PWO accountshaving outstanding balance up to 5.00 Crore under MSME, 1.00 Crore under Retail and 0.25 Crore under Agriculturecategory. The Bank recovered NPA accounts amounting to866 crore under Vasooli Sankalp scheme.
To have better and targeted monitoring mechanism &reduction in SMA - I & SMA - II accounts of large corporateare being monitored by Stressed Asset Management Verticalin coordination with Credit Monitoring Vertical to find outthe resolution and exploring all prospects of recovery, upgradation.
International Banking
The Bank has -91- overseas branches/offices across -17-countries comprising of -39- overseas branches/offices(including -1- International Banking Unit in GIFT City,Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India and -9- EBSUs in UAE), -52-branches of the Banks -7- overseas subsidiaries. In addition,Bank has one Joint Venture viz. India International Bank(Malaysia) Bhd. in Malaysia and one associate bank viz. IndoZambia Bank Ltd. in Zambia with -32- branches.
The Bank has presence in the worlds major financial centresof New York, London, Dubai, Singapore and Australia. Inaddition, Bank has a wholesale branch in GIFT City (SEZ),Gujarat, India which is treated as an offshore banking unitand has chosen the branch as a centre for business growthtaking into consideration the immense business potential,tax advantage, Government initiatives etc. Bank has takenvarious proactive steps in creating world class infrastructurefor the branch in IFSC including state of the art dealing roomfor international treasury of global standard at GIFT city.
Bank pursues a strategy of driving growth and value bymeeting the international banking requirements of Indiancorporates; catering to India linked cross-border trade flowsfor Indian and locally incorporated companies or firms andbeing the preferred Bank for NRIs/ Persons of Indian Origin.
Looking into the available business opportunities, Bank hasalso diversified the advances portfolio by taking exposureon Non-India related syndication loans in the primary andsecondary market. Also, various new products have beenlaunched to broaden the product basket.
Further, in overseas centres, substantial progress has beenmade in IT up gradation for end-to-end business solution, with afocus on digitization and centralization, to improve productivityand customer experience. Bank is continuously integratingmultiple platforms of technology to generate synergies.
Bank has strategically undertaken rationalization of itsoverseas presence based on a comprehensive evaluationframework. As part of this exercise, in recent years, Bankhas closed its operations in Hong Kong, South Africa and a branch/ office each in UAE, Oman and Mauritius. The Bank iscontinuously consolidating and re-organising its InternationalOperations in line with the new global environment andfocused on rebalancing the portfolio with a view to managerisks, shed low-yield assets and increase profitability.
As of March 31, 2024, the Banks total business (net) frominternational branches was 3,83,409 Crores and constituted16.02% of the global business. Total deposits were at1,98,444 Crores while net advances were 1,84,965 Crores.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE BUSINESS
With an objective to implement high standards of compliancein line with extant regulatory guidelines with improvedoperational efficiency, service delivery and quality, ourBank has set up Trade Finance Back Office at GIFT City,Gandhinagar(Indias 1st smart city) along with BCP set upat Bengaluru to cater trade finance services of its pan Indiacustomers. The significant developments aimed at enhancingthe overall foreign exchange business in the current financialyear are as follows:
• Bank has automated cross border inward remittancesbelow USD10000 for certain purposes. During FY 23-24 we have successfully handled 59,368 transactionsthrough Straight through processing, achievingsignificant improvement in TAT.
• Bank has launched Liberalized Remittance Scheme(LRS) facility through BOB-World enabling individualcustomers to initiate transactions under LRS for specificpurposes viz. gift / family maintenance from their Mobile.Approximately3700 transactions have been facilitatedthrough the platform.
• Bank has created an accessible 24/7 SMART TRADEPORTAL to its customers, enabling them to initiate inlandas well as forex trade transactions from their office,reducing the necessity for branch visits. This channelhas witnessed considerable growth during the year withdoubling of the number of customers on-boarded androuting of 10% of the total transactions through the Portal.
• Bank has partnered with NeSL (National E-GovernanceServices Limited) to issue Bank Guarantees end to end,via Digital Mode, which will increase the security andreduce TAT In this initiative, our Bank has emerged asthe fastest inthe industry to issue 1,000 Electronic BankGuarantees (e-BGs) on the National e-GovernanceServices Limited (NeSL) platform for the quarter endedDecember23. As of March24, our cumulative eBGissuance has doubled to2010.
• As on 31st Mar 2024, Bank has established 13 SpecialRupee Vostro Accounts for Banks worldwide tospearhead the Government of Indias drive to promoteINR denominated trade transactions via the SpecialRupee Vostro Account (SRVA) mechanism.
• Bank has fully centralized processing of inland tradetransactions from August 2023, thereby successfullyconsolidating the processing of both inland and Forextrade finance transactions through the Trade FinanceBack Office.
Domestic Treasury Operations
The Bank operates its treasury operations from a state ofthe-art dealing room at its Corporate Office in Mumbai.The treasury is a prominent player in various markets suchas foreign exchange, interest rates, fixed income, moneymarket, derivatives, equity, currency and interest rate futuresand other alternate asset classes. The Bank offers variousservices like interest rate swaps, currency swaps, currencyoptions and forward contracts through authorised branchesdealing in foreign exchange across India.
Treasury maintains the regulatory requirements of CRRand Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) and manages the fundposition. Treasury borrows/invests in money market andcapital market instruments as part of fund managementoperations.
The total size of the Banks domestic investment book as of31st March 2024 stood at 3,56,820 crore. The share of SLRsecurities in total investments was 84.30%. The percentageof SLR securities (unencumbered) to Net Demand and TimeLiabilities (NDTL) as of 31st March, 2024 was at 23.81%.The Bank capitalized on the opportunities offered by yieldmovements. The Bank managed its portfolio efficiently andmaintained yields on total investment for FY 2023-24 at7.21%(including profit on sale). During FY 2024, the profiton sale of investment and foreign exchange earnings were1,498 crore and 630 crore respectively.
Government Business
The Government Relationships Vertical plays a pivotal role inthe strategic framework of the bank. It serves as a cornerstonein meeting the diverse banking needs of both Central andState Governments, as well as Public Sector Undertakings(PSUs) across India. Our comprehensive suite of servicesencompasses a wide array of financial transactions crucial tothe functioning of government bodies.
One of our primary responsibilities involves the seamlessprocessing of payments related to Central Government andState Government pensions, postal transactions, and Treasury/sub-Treasury transactions. Additionally, we manage variousGovernment savings and investment schemes such as thePublic Provident Fund, Senior Citizens Saving Scheme,Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, National Pension System,Atal Pension Yojana, e-Kisan Vikas Patra, RBI bonds GoldMonetization Scheme, Mahila Samman Saving scheme , andSovereign Gold Bonds. These services not only contributesignificantly to the banks fee income, with a notable 124.32crore in FY 2023-24, but also bolster our reputation andgoodwill in the banking sector.
Moreover, our role extends beyond transactional services.We actively assist in the opening of accounts for various Stateand Central Government organizations, fostering a symbioticrelationship by mobilizing Current Account Savings Account(CASA) deposits for the bank. Our commitment to providingholistic solutions is evidenced by our efforts in facilitatingthe onboarding of customers to government portals such asthe Government e-Marketplace (GEM) portal and the PublicFinancial Management System (PFMS). These initiatives not only strengthen our existing relationships but also pavethe way for establishing new partnerships and expandingour CASA base. As of March 31, 2024, the total GovernmentCASA of the bank amounted to 55,435 crores, representing11.88% of the total banks CASA.
Furthermore, our dedication to innovation and technology isparamount. We offer customized IT solutions to governmentdepartments nationwide, catering to their specific needsand requirements. By leveraging technology, we enhanceefficiency, streamline processes, and ensure the seamlessmobilization of government CASA.
As an accredited banker to esteemed ministries such as theMinistry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Law& Justice. Our focus extends beyond transactional efficiency;we prioritize providing allied services that add value to ourgovernment partners. This includes initiatives such asfacilitating the onboarding of government departments ontothe PFMS Portal, actively canvassing government CASAaccounts, and providing comprehensive support to branchesengaged in government business.
In essence, our Government Relationships Vertical servesas a trusted partner to government entities, offering acomprehensive suite of banking services tailored to theirunique needs. With a steadfast commitment to excellence,innovation, and customer-centricity, we continue to playa pivotal role in the nations economic development andgovernance.
Wealth Management
Over the years, the Wealth Management Vertical continuesto be a Strategic Business Unit in your Bank, with a primarygoal of expanding Assets Under Management across variousbusiness lines while delivering best of class Insurance &Investment products and services to vast customer base ofover 14 million through extensive network of 8200+ branches.
The industry has taken note of your Banks dedication toWealth Management Services, by awarding Top Performeraward under the category "Equity Champions" for Banks byCafe Mutual, for outstanding performance in the fiscal year.
To meet the needs of both retail and affluent segments,your Bank is actively recruiting and deploying skilledprofessionals from the market, while also ensuring thatexisting staff members possess the necessary certificationsand knowledge to effectively serve all segments, includingthe non-radiance ones.
Embracing digitization is a key aspect of your Bank strategyto enhance distribution processes, aiming for efficiency andseamlessness in customer service. To achieve this, your Bankhas partnered with two new aged tech companies, Zopper andOptimum Solution, to offer tailored made digital Insurance &Investment solutions viz., SmartInsure and SmartInvest. Thegoal of your Bank is encourage digital adoption and migratetransactions to digital channels, thereby enhancing theoverall customer experience.
Your Bank always gives strong emphasis in creating a
skilled workforce and believes in maintaining an ethical andtransparent sales process. To support this, your Bank hasengaged three reputable training and development providersto design customized training modules for staff members,ensuring business with compliance.
In the fiscal year 23-24, your Bank achieved significantmilestones, mobilizing premiums of 959 Crores in lifeinsurance segment and 599 Crores in non-life insurancesegment. Despite market volatility, with a focus on net salesthe Mutual Fund AUM of your Bank stands at an impressive13,860 Crores.
Your Bank remain committed to fostering engagement withboth external and internal stakeholders through a series ofunique initiatives during the years as under:
• "Wealth Insight" - monthly e-magazine for RadianceCustomers providing market outlook.
• "Thursday Thoughts" - weekly e-mailer to spreadknowledge on Wealth Business
• "Wealth Bulletin" - In House bimonthly e-magazine ofWMS vertical
• "Leadership Chronicle"- an insightful talk show featuringprominent personalities from the banking and financesectors.
• "Transcend "- Wealth Management tie-up PartnersConclave - 1st of its kind with an objective to nurture& strengthen partnership across the wealth business,outline wealth business strategy for the next 3-5 years.
• "Expert Insight" - Webinars /Sessions on various financialaspects with market experts including decoding AnnualBudget, Decoding Market Cycle, Market Outlook etc.
• "Investogram" - A simple, easy to understand, animatedguide that meticulously covers the eight vital investmentcornerstones, enabling novice as well as seasonedinvestors to create wealth over the long term.
Digital Banking products
The Bank is committed to digitisation and continuouslystrives to migrate transactions to digital channels which leadsto better customer experience. The major focus of digitalbanking is to make Banks products available to customersthrough digital and alternate delivery channels. The keyinstruments in digital banking are bob World, bob World UPI,Baroda Connect, Debit Cards, Prepaid Cards, BHIM Aadhaar,ATM and Cash Recycler machines, Self Service PassbookPrinters(SSPBP), TAB Banking, Internet Payment Gateway(IPG), Bharat Bill Payment Services (BBPS), Baroda FASTag,Bharat QR, Point of Sale (POS), etc.
bob World
During the FY2024 the Bank has been able to achieve 28.48Lacs bob World Activations. As of March 31, 2024 a total of306 Lakhs bob World activations have been achieved. Thebank has also been able to achieve a total of 17.09 CroreFinancial transactions and 228.64 Crore Non-Financialtransactions through bob World during FY2024.
Debit cards
The Bank has an active card base of 9.54 crore as on31st March 2024, an YoY increase of 15%. To increasee-commerce/POS transactions and to make Banks debitcard as the preferred card of choice for the customer, theBank tied up with various merchants for providing lucrativeoffers to debit card customers and launched 35 campaignsduring the period from June23 to March24 with variouspopular merchants such as Xiaomi, Zomato, Meesho, Myntra,ClearTrip, EaseMyTrip, JioMart, Tata Cliq, Swiggy, RelianceDigital, and BookMyShow.
In FY 2023-24, Bank has launched "Magalir Urimai NCMC"debit card for women in the state of Tamil Nadu. BanksPlatinum debit card base has increased to 1.62 crore as on31st March 2024 registering an increase of 30% over theprevious year.
Baroda FASTag (National Electronic Toll Collection -NETC)
Bank has issued 1.84 lakh FASTag in FY2024. Our bank hasprocessed 4.45 crore FASTag toll transactions amounting 512.39 crore in FY2024.
Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)
Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an interoperableplatform for repetitive bill payments which offers realtime bill payment and recharge services to customers.BBPS is an RBI initiative product and managed byNBBL (wholly owned subsidiary of NPCI). Our Bank isauthorized as Customer Operating Unit (COU) and BillerOperating Unit (BOU) for facilitating BBPS services.In FY2024, Bank has processed 2.39 Crore bill paymenttransactions amounting approx. 5820 crore. Bank has alsoon-boarded Rajasthan Mahila Nidhi as a biller on BanksBBPS systems under Loan repayment category for facilitatingcollection of Self Help Group (SHG) loan repayments throughBanks BBPS systems.
ATM
The Bank has wide network of 9,426 ATMs and 1,607 Cashre-cyclers as on 31st March 2024 with very user friendlyscreens that allow navigation in Hindi, English and the locallanguage of the place of deployment offering a smoothexperience for our customers in their day to day bankingoperation. Our ATMs are enriched with features such as greenpin generation, National Electronic Fund transfer, Cash onmobile services where customer can withdraw money fromATM without using Debit card etc. Our Bank has launched thefacility of Interoperable Card less Cash withdrawal (UPI ATM)at 7145 locations where customer can withdraw money usingUPI QR services (ICCW) of Bank. As of 31st March 2024,6517 are made live under OPEX model for seamless ATMservices and enhanced customers experience.
Internet Payment Gateway (IPG)
The Banks IPG infrastructure bob World Merchant Gateway isan online service that is being offered to customers to conducttheir business online by accepting payments securely in realtime. The Internet Payment Gateway provides an interface between merchants and their customers for secure paymentprocessing using online modes.
bob World Merchant Gateway facilitates receiving paymentonline from debit/credit card, Net Banking, UPI, Wallet, AEPS,AADHAR PAX QR code etc. and offline modes i.e. NEFT/RTGS in a simple and secured manner, which is essential fore-Commerce/online business.
To provide a seamless and customizable service, Bank hastied up with -12- aggregators and master merchants. Bankhas on-boarded 1,911 merchants in FY2024 achieving alandmark of 5000+ IPG merchants base with 1.5 x growthin merchant on-boarding registering an increase of 1.4xaverage CASA growth from 2,091 Crores to 2,928 Croreson YoY basis.
bob World UPI:
UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts intoa single mobile application (of any participating bank),merging several banking features, seamless fund routingand merchant payments into one hood. It also caters to the"Peer to Peer" collect requests which can be scheduled andpaid as per requirement and convenience. During FY2024,an increase of 36% merchant on-boarding for UPI QR incomparison to FY2023. There is tremendous growth in UPIQR transactions from 6.63 Crores to 10.01 Crores.
During FY2024, Bank has on boarded 18 lacs new users onits UPI Platform.
bob World (Internet Banking):
The total number of Internet Banking users of the bankincreased to 108.46 lakh during FY2024 from 99.71 Lakhduring FY2023.
Baroda TabIT:
The Bank embarked upon digitizing its customer on boardingprocess through tablet for instant CASA opening along withbundle of services (Personalized Cheque Book, PersonalizedDebit Card, Mobile Banking with MPIN, SMS Alert, InternetBanking) and POS, UPI QR, IPG lead generation throughits TAB banking platform - bob World Tab. Bank openedmore than 37.7 lakh savings account and 2.1 Lakh Currentaccounts through this platform during the FY2024.
Two new modes of Savings Account opening have beenintroduced: Aadhaar Biometric authentication and CKYCSearch & Download from CKYC Registry. Changes inexisting journey of Current account has been implementedfor Individual and Sole Proprietorship through TAB. Thesevalidations have helped in increasing the successful uploadpercentage of LEI records on CKYC Registry portal.
Additional features in account opening journey have beenintroduced such as SMS Alerts in 12 languages in Savings& Current Account, Customer feedback in Current Accountas per EASE 6.0 Norms and Lead Generation for Demat &Trading account in Savings account.
Digital Rupee (e): Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)Merchant QR, Demat & Trading Account opening and Digital journey of Education loan has been initiated through bobWorld Tab.
Govt. Schemes like Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Schemeand E-Kisan Vikas Patra Scheme (e-KVP) issuance have beenintroduced through TAB banking platform - bob World Tab.
| Functionality | FY2024 |
| Saving Bank Account | 37,72,786 |
| Current Account | 2,13,149 |
| SHG A/c | 40,938 |
| Fastag | 3,514 |
| Company account | 1,638 |
| UPI Merchant On boarding | 6,56,629 |
| BHIM Aaadhar Lead Generation | 36,825 |
| POS Leads | 30,782 |
| IPG Lead Generation through TAB | 2,912 |
WhatsApp Banking:
• WhatsApp Banking User registration -
| Year | WA bankingBranch WiseRegistration(Customers)in Lacs(A) | WA bankingtotal
Registrationsof Non-Customers(Lacs) (B) |
WA bankingtotal
Registrationof existing-Customers(Lacs) ( C) |
WA bankingtotal no ofRegistrations(Lacs) (D) =(B)+( C) |
| FY 2021 | 5.02 | 2.06 | 4.04 | 6.11 |
| FY 2022 | 9.64 | 5.49 | 8.29 | 13.78 |
| FY 2023 | 40.35 | 5.87 | 38.14 | 44.01 |
| FY 2024 | 30.1 | 8.24 | 28.34 | 36.59 |
| TOTAL | 85.11 | 21.66 | 78.81 | 100.49 |
*Non-customers user registration includes registration ofusers who are not customers of the bank + registration ofcustomers of the bank who are not eligible for WhatsAppbanking.
WhatsApp Banking Transactions -
| WhatsApp Banking Transactions (Lacs) | ||
| Year | Successful end to endtransaction | Intermediary APIHits |
| FY2021 | 14.65 | 47.8 |
| FY2022 | 59.29 | 207.5 |
| FY2023 | 189.68 | 343.4 |
| FY2024 | 368.08 | 701.72 |
Digital Banking Units:
Initially our bank was allotted 8 districts for setting up of DigitalBanking Units, subsequently our Bank has set up 9 moreDBUs. Now our Bank has Bank of Baroda has most numberof DBUs (17) by any Bank in the industry. Total business of 66.78 crores have been canvassed by these DBUs as on31.03.2024.
Digital Lending
In these times, the paradigm shift in technologicaladvancements has reshaped the global era of digitization.Almost every industry is trying to drive the change throughdigitization and the banking industry is on the frontline ofexploration and innovation.
The financial services industry is undergoing rapid andfar-reaching transformation, underpinned by emergingtechnologies and socio-economic drivers. This transformationis fundamentally changing market structures and openingopportunities for both incumbents & challengers to createinnovative, game-changing alternative products & services.
As technology took the front seat, customers started to seekservices that did not require them to travel, particularly fortheir routine banking needs. This evolving landscape ofcustomer preferences led us to build Digital Lending Platform(DLP).
The Digital Platform is helping Bank to cater to existingcustomer borrowing needs and acquire new customers fromdiverse segments using digital means, enter new and hithertountapped markets, and add a prominent digital dimension toBanks brand identity.
The platform is empowering the borrower to complete theend-to-end loan process from lead, to sanction, and todisbursement in a few clicks with minimal including mandatorydocumentation using contactless and paperless processfrom the convenience of their homes/ office, eliminating theneed to physically visit the Banks branch.
At the core of this digital lending platform, fintech are playinga pivotal role in revolutionizing credit ecosystem by creatingalternative lending channels that offer significant advantagesto both Bank and borrowers.
Initiatives of Digital Lending to improve Banks businessportfolios;
Retail Initiatives:
• Bank has launched Digital Education Loan for ExecutiveDevelopment Program (EDP) of Premier Institutes inIndia through Digital Lending Platform
• Bank has launched a full-fledged Branch Officer AssistedJourney for Digital Personal Loans to conduct the end toend digital journey, which also facilitate the branches tosupport at different stages of the customer self- servicejourney.
• Bank has done various improvements in the digitaljourneys of Digital Personal Loan and Digital Auto Loanto improve customer experience
MSME Initiatives:
• Bank has integrated JanSamarth Portal with internalloan processing systems to provide, End- To- End DigitalMudra loans upto 10 lakh.
Agri Initiatives:
• Bank has launched Digital Journey for Gold Loan to
provide superior banking experience to the customers.
• Bank has launched STP journey for BKCC up to 1.6lacs on Jansamarth portal in the states of Karnataka, UPand Maharashtra
• Bank has launched digital process for renewal of BKCCloans.
Analytics Centre of Excellence (ACoE)
The Bank continues to accelerate in data driven banking withmore power and capacity. The Bank has taken strong stridesand driven business value through more Machine Learning(ML)/ Statistical models and use cases across variousbusiness lines such as Digital lending, Retail /MSME assets,Retail liabilities, Wealth management, Credit monitoring,Collection, Treasury and Risk management. Further, thebank has leveraged its advance ML capabilities in Cross-Sell,Up-Sell, Early Warning Signals, Customer Segmentation,Fraud Analytics, Asset Liability Management etc. Bankis also using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies forautomation of various processes viz. customer onboarding,contact centre operation, virtual agent services etc. The Bankhas also been awarded with the Best AI/ ML bank- 2023 byIndian Banks Association
Information Technology
• Bank has implemented Cheque Truncation Systemunder RBIs "One Nation One Grid-CTS" project, i.e.merger of three Regional Grids to a single National Gridand designating Southern Grid as National Grid of ourBank.
• Bank has introduced Digital Allotment of LockerPortal, wherein customers can see real time pictorialrepresentation of the locker cabinets and book thelocker of their choice subject to availability.
• Bank is consistently introducing new services on the UPIplatform, such as UPI Lite, Numeric Mapper, Prepaid/eRupi vouchers for various government entities,extending UPI transactions to Mauritius territory, Bill-Fetch and Payment for self and others, and introducingthe EMI feature for RuPay credit cards issued by BarodaFinancial Solutions Ltd. (BFSL).
• Bank introduced additional functionalities in CentralBank Digital Currency (CBDC) referred to as e(Digital Rupee) - Merchant on boarding for existingcustomer through TAB Banking, UPI Interoperabilityimplementation. •
• Bank has introduced additional services, enhancementsin system controls and security features in its mobilebanking application for customers. These includeintegrating credit cards, facilitating NPS subscriptions,incorporating the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS),providing a currency converter, enhancing the mutualfund journey, generating provisional interest certificatesfor housing loans, offering a digital calendar/plannerto track maturity dates of FD/RD/loan EMI due dates incalendar view, and allowing users to create their ownevents/reminders.
• Bank added new services/ features in Internet BankingPlatform to enhance customer experience viz. e-KVPaccount opening, Icegate payment integration,WhatsApp registration, Quick fund transfer facility withoutbeneficiary addition (NEFT/IMPS), Implementationof various alerts for customer awareness, variousintegration with state treasuries, Integration of NationalCommon Mobility Card (NCMC) and customers cannow access their lockers details.
• Bank has upgraded /revamped the Loan Life cycleManagement (LLPS) for MSME customers.
• Bank has integrated multiple channels, including InternetBanking, Mobile Banking, BC point, Core Banking andTAB banking with Jan Suraksha Portal. This simplifiesthe enrolment process for customers while applying forthe various insurance schemes under this portal.
• Bank has implemented SDWAN technology across7,100+ branches to optimize bandwidth usage andbetter connectivity to Branches for providing bettercustomer service. With these continuous efforts Bankis continuously migrating VSAT branches (secondary)to MPLS for better network performance subjected tofeasibility.
• Bank is continuously enhancing Tablet Banking, andWhatsApp Banking to offer new features and servicesto customers i.e. launching 7 new Current Accountschemes, enabling biometric authentication etc.
• Bank has launched a Loan EMI reset Consent portal togather consent from retail loan customers regarding theadjustment of their EMI and tenure.
• Bank is continuously upgrading its infrastructureagility and resilience to support banking services andtransactions, for higher uptime and performance.
Cyber Security
The Bank has a well-defined Cyber Security Governanceframework in place that is operated through a combinationof management structure, policy framework and operationalcontrols which is aligned with business strategies ofBank for comprehensive IT risk management. To providecyberresilience & for managing enterprise risk, Bankcontinuously implements adaptive security controls tomitigate risks, thereby minimizing cyber-attack surface. TheBank follows both NIST (National Institute of Science andTechnology, USA) Cyber Security Framework and RBI CyberSecurity Framework.
Cyber Security is being monitored and managed on24X7X365 basis by Cyber Security Operation Center (CSOC)for monitoring active threats in Banks environment. TheGlobal CSOC is tightly coupled with all the verticals of thebank at domestic and international territories. It is equippedwith state-of-art cyber security solutions for threat modelling,detecting, analyzing and mitigation of cyber-threats. BanksData Centre and Data Recovery Centre are ISO 27001:2013certified.
In addition to the existing checks and controls, Bankundertook the following measures to enhance cyber security:
• Regular Random Early Detection (RED) team exercisecarried out to provide valuable and objective insightsabout vulnerabilities and the efficacy of defences andmitigating controls already in place.
• Cyber Insurance Policy from a reputed insuranceprovider to protect business and individuals fromInternet-based risks and frauds.
• Customer Awareness includes Cyber Securityawareness messages via SMS & E-mail, social mediaplatforms, websites, ATMs for educating customersabout cyber security.
• Data Leak Prevention (DLP) ensures that no confidentialinformation is leaving the Bank network. Data leakageprevention is helping in application monitoring, emailmonitoring, malware protection and user access control.
• Network Access Control (NAC) is helping Bank inproviding restricted access to computing resources.It provides visibility, access control, and compliancethat are required to strengthen network securityinfrastructure.
• Anti-Phishing, External Attack Surface Management(EASM) and Digital Risk Monitoring (DRM) Services.
Marketing
The Bank continued to have its impactful presence acrossthe media spectrum reaching out to its customers throughElectronic ( TV , Cinema , Radio, etc.), Print, OOH, digital,and events. During the year, Bank continued to further thruston its products campaigns such as Home Loan, Car Loan,MSME loans, BOB Bro SB Account, Current Account etc.Bank celebrated ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav during anchormonth (July 2023) on Pan India basis with special focus onSLBC states (Gujarat, UP and Rajasthan).
Bank has a history of associating with ace athletes andsportspersons making them brand endorsers and playa crucial part in their sporting career. In order to optimallyuse the endorsers and effectively reach the Millennialsand sports loving youth who are potential Target segment;Bank organised various photoshoots for promoting variousproducts. Bank also curated and created Television VideoCommercial and garnered huge visibility and Top of the mindrecall. In addition, these endorsers also used Banks BrandedJerseys during BWF Tournaments during 2024.
Bank of Baroda has always been a strong supporter andenabler of women empowerment through its variousproducts and services. In addition, Bank has always been astrong Launchpad for women in sports like in the case of MsP V Sindhu who is a renowned sports icon and is associatedas Banks Brand endorser. In order to further deepen theassociation with our Brand endorser Ms. Shafali Vermaand PV Sindhu, Bank released TV Media campaigns duringFestival time ‘BOB Ke sang, Tyohar ki Umang, ‘ BOB BROand in Q4 ‘ ‘Bharosa Matlab Bank of Baroda for creating
Brand awareness and garner Business, and also to enableZones & Regions to promote various Products and offers forBusiness mobilisation during this festive period.
Bank forayed into the sustainability domain through launchof ‘BOB Earth on Foundation Day 2023 wherein Banks allgreen initiatives have been brought under umbrella of ‘BOBEarth. Bank participated in Bollywood Hungama OTT Indiafest in association with Hungama as Banking Partner withpresence on social media platforms and on-ground eventwith huge participation of Bollywood celebrities and followedby young audiences across the globe. Bank promotedBaroda Radiance and Wealth Management Products togarner business and visibility.
Bank participated in IIT-Bombays cultural fest- Mood Indigowhich is Asias largest college cultural festival which has beenattracting footfall of about 146000+ students. This uniqueparticipation witnessed Banks advertising on both digital andon-ground channels in an engaging way which resulted inbusiness generation apart from brand visibility and generatedmore than 3000+ leads.
Bank ‘s participation in Govt. & Private forums under BFSIsector and at corporate events that were through CII, FIBAC,Glopac.etc.
Other events like Bollywood Music Project in Mumbai,Rambagh Golf Club at Jaipur, Literature fest at Pune .etc weretargeted towards audiences interested in areas of music,sports and literature for catering to the niche audience. TheBank continuously supports the youth of the country throughits various banking and non-banking initiatives. In order toreach these Millenials and sports loving youth; Bank initiatedtelevision campaigns during Mens Indian Premier League(IPL) 2023 ,ICC Mens Worl Cup 2023, and India-AustraliaT20I cricket series.
Also, through sponsorship of various events at large scaleand smaller formats across India such Ganeshotsov, Durgapuja and Mirchi Rock & Dhol Garba Bank endeavour tocreate connect with diverse audience and garner Business.Promoted Festive campaign extensively through various BTLactivities such as umbrella Branding at prominent placesLabughcha Raja
Radio station (Big FM -M/s Reliance Broadcast Network P Ltd)used innovative ideas for in-show Banks product integrationacross categories like Home & Car loan, Radiance, Ask Adi,etc. during iconic show ‘Antakshari. Twice national awardwinning actor and anchor Annu Kapoor is a living legendwho made the game show of Antakshari as one of themost memorable and iconic. Bank associated on this highaudience Radio show to address captive family audience.
On the digital front, Bank continued its digital marketing effortsfor business conversion leveraging on the digital journeysrolled out for Home Loan, Car, Loan, Personal Loan, MSME,etc. A total of 35+ Campaigns were executed for awarenessas well as business conversions for various products &services. More than 5.85 lakhs leads were generated throughDigital paid Marketing activities with approximate sanction of1083 Crore
Further, Bank continued its aggressive social media strategy,promoting its products and services, throughout the year,strengthening its digital presence. The Bank achieved amilestone of 7.2 million followers across platforms by end ofMarch 2024.
Bank has been doing multiple social media campaignsto awareness & engagement and promote womenempowerment, gender equality etc. In continuation of itsefforts, the 4th edition of digital IP #SaluteHerShakti wasorganized wherein the Bank provided a platform to bringforward the women who have done commendable work topromote gender equality and meet PV Sindhu and ShafaliVerma.
Throughout the year, the Banks social media strategyeffectively showcased the numerous features and offeringsof various products and services . In particular, promotionalefforts were intensified during the festive season.
The details of Banks social media presence are as below:
| Social Media Channels | No. of Followers/subscribers as onMarch 31 2024 |
| Facebook followers | 40.26 lacs + |
| Twitter followers | 10.76 lacs + |
| YouTube Subscribers | 6.2 lacs + |
| LinkedIn followers | 3.3 lacs + |
| Instagram followers | 10.42 lacs + |
| Quora Views (started on 1st Jan2022) | 4.87 lacs + |
In Website operations, Bank has successfully revamped andcentralized all its 19 websites including domestic corporatewebsite, international territories/subsidiary websites, andthe bob World website under the centralization project. InFY 2023-24 total session in website is 86.50 million and total37.95 million users visited the website, out of total session70% traffic is coming from Organic Sources.
The website enhanced features and functionalities nowinclude:
• Robust search functionality with improved voice search
• Official blog, Lead Management System (LMS) andsophisticated calculators
• Multilingual capabilities Advanced filters
• WCAG 2.0, GDPR compliance, cookie managementcapabilities
• Accelerating Digital Growth
• Regularized Search Engine
• Optimization (SEO) for all websites Set-up of analyticsfor data gathering, analysis and action Supporting digitalmarketing ecosystem with tracking and conversions. •
• Improving the page load speed time by implementingthe best SEO practices.
Key Highlights of Website Performance:
17% Overall Traffic Improvement in FY2024
19% Organic Traffic Improvement in FY2024
The highest level of organic traffic was attained in the month
of March24, totalling 6.1 million.
1733 Keywords securing position on 1st page.
Blog organic Sessions 83% Improvement
50+ blogs are appearing in Zero Position (Feature Snippet)
15+ blogs are appearing in Google Search Generative
Experience (SGE)
Hyperlocal Project (Location Management):
• In November 2023, over 8,500 webpages were createdfor branches and offices as part of Location Management(Hyperlocal) and subsequently launched.
• Following the introduction of the Hyperlocal BranchPage, there has been a notable increase in traffic, risingfrom 19,868 visitors in October 2023 to 380,000 visitorsin March 2024.
MoM traffic increase in Locator Pages:
| Month | Nov-23 | Dec-23 | Jan-24 | Feb-24 | Mar-24 |
| Session | 43,299 | 1,42,736 | 2,33,679 | 2,98,466 | 3,86,626 |
From a Public Relations perspective, the aim was to buildthe Bank of Baroda brand, protect brand reputation andbe positioned amongst the Top 5 banks in India across thepublic and private sector, highlighting the Banks financialperformance, the transformation at the Bank as well ascommunicating other key announcements & initiatives. InFY2024, the Bank cemented its #2 rank in Media Share ofVoice among PSBs, after SBI.
As the Bank continues to leverage new age digital marketingand create an equilibrium between the physical and digitalmarketing, the objective is to be an aspirational brandwhich engages, empowers and educates digital audienceby providing relevant content and fulfill banking needs byconstantly analyzing, measuring and improving experience,response and capabilities.
Corporate Ethics
The Code of Ethics is a landmark initiative for a PublicSector Bank in the country. We are proud to be amongstthe pioneers in adopting a Code of Ethics and devising aninstitutional mechanism for handling ethical concerns andissues in the organization. The Code of Ethics has beenbenchmarked with peer organizations from around the worldand has been structured on a stakeholders-centric approachwith the employees at the center as the ultimate owners anddrivers of culture. There is a strong alignment of the Code ofEthics with our Core Values and the Code sets out a guidingframework for how we behave with our colleagues andstakeholders and our expectations from those who work withus. The Code addresses contemporary challenges that theBank and its employees face and outlines the responsibilities
they carry when addressing emerging critical issues in areaslike cybersecurity and climate change.
The Banking industry has seen a lot of challenges with thechanging times but amidst these, ethics and trust remain atthe core of the industry on any given day. The Code gives usthe strength to do what is "RIGHT" and will help to enhanceour Banks brand and reputation. The Banks leaders havebeen supporting the cascade of the Code through multipleemployee engagement events.
Apart from conducting round-the-year education andawareness programmes and devising metrics formeasurement of Ethics, one of the most powerful strategiesfor ensuring the success of our ethics agenda is developingeffective channels of communication and towards thisendeavour, the ‘Speak Up! initiative in line with the Code ofEthics was organized which highlights the channels availablein the Bank to raise complaints and issues against unethicalpractices. Further, a quarterly in-house journal - ‘BarodaSanskriti - is published with creative contributions fromthe employees. Regular Snippets from the Code of Ethics,quizzes, competitions, bilingual audiobooks on COE andother digital communications like the initiative- ‘Naitik Series- videos on ethical dilemmas also ensure better awarenessof ethics. A focused training programme was devised onCorporate Ethics for the branches which were downgradedto high risk during the year. As part of the Banks EthicsAgenda -05- Ethics Counsellors were appointed in the fieldin June 2023, for each of the Zonal clusters - North, South,East, West, and Central, who would help in disseminating theCorporate Ethics message in the field and guide employeesin case of ethical dilemmas/issues. The Bank launched‘Living the Values!-Vol 1 e-booklet on the Bank>s FoundationDay 2023. This is one of its kind initiative under the series<Living the Values which comprises of inspiring short storiesof our fellow Barodians that exemplify our core values inaction. The stories are categorized under each of ourcore values viz., <Integrity>, <Customer Centricity>, <Courage>,<Passionate Ownership>, <Innovation>, and <Excellence>.
Webinars, dedicated training programmes, and mandatorye-learning courses on Ethics being conducted for all staffmembers ensure that the Code of Ethics is cascaded toall employees and strengthen the culture of ethics andtransparency in our Bank.
By creating a corporate culture that encourages employeesto behave ethically and speak up against unethical practices,we expect our organization will be able to deliver powerfulEnvironment, Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes thataddresses the interests of all our stakeholders.
Customer Service
The Bank constantly endeavours to set industry benchmarksand pioneer innovations across products, processes andservice delivery that are imperative to providing seamlessexperiences to its customers. Customer interactions in 15languages & through all possible modes like Voice (IVR/ Voicebot /Agent), Video call, Web chat, Email are continuouslymonitored across channels and channel capabilities(functionalities and the user experience) were enhanced to ensure ease of banking from home. The Bank ensuredtime to time addition of AI & Generative AI based featuresto improve customers satisfaction with efficiency. Apart fromHindi and English, the language capability was increased tothirteen regional languages.
The highlight of Contact Centre:
1. The contact centre handled 1.43 lakh average inboundcustomer calls per day during the year and over 1.13lakh calls daily responded to through IVR.
2. Average more than 1.16 lakh outbound calls per day forsales and surveys.
3. Bank is handling around 78% call on IVR which ishighest in industry
4. Contact Centre provided emergency services to 6overseas territories i.e. Botswana, Mauritius, Uganda,Oman, Fiji & Seychelles.
5. 24*7 FRMS alerts reviewed by Contact Centre and byimmediate blocking the channels saved 2000 +crorecustomer money from further fraud.
6. IN I4C bank has handled 1.56 lac alerts and saved thehighest customer money in PSU.
7. Contact center has initiated many new functionality like-Call back, Bday wish
8. Manty special helpdesk at Contact Centre for exclusivelyhelping the NRI/HNI, bob World internet and bob Worldmobile banking related issue, Complaints, PMJDY
9. Contact Centre is providing 24 IVR services and 26services through agents 24*7
10. First in industry contact centre started live Video call andlive web chat facility for customers.
11. Now contact centre is equipped with many AI-basedtechnologies like Speech Analytics, Social Media Tools,Automated Email Tool, Genie training Tool, AURA callquality Tool, Work force management, smart dashboardand many more technologies.
During FY 2024, the Bank saw significant improvement inthe usage of remote channels for managing grievances.Approximately 94.7% of the grievances were resolved withinthe pre-defined turnaround time. The Bank not only focussedon improving the quantitative performance indicators ofgrievance redressal but also on improving the quality ofresolution to improve customer satisfaction. Service levelsacross the network of branches are monitored throughmystery shopping/service audits and workshops. GeneralManager, Operations and Services, is designated as PrincipalNodal Officer for customer complaints in the Bank. Moreover,all zonal heads and regional heads are designated as nodalofficers for their respective zones and regions. Further, thenames of respective nodal officers along with their contactnumbers are displayed in all the branches of the bank. TheBank has appointed an Internal Ombudsman which is a forummade available for the grievance redressal of customersbefore they approach the RBI Ombudsman. All complaints,
which are rejected or partially accepted by the Bank, aresystematically escalated to the Internal Ombudsman forreview. This enhances customer confidence in the Bankssystems and expedites the process of grievance redressal,thus making it even more transparent.
The Banks code of commitment to customers and MSMEs,citizen charter, grievance redressal policy, and RBI IntegratedOmbudsman scheme are available on the Banks website topromote fair banking practices by maintaining transparencyin various products, services and policies. At the Boardlevel, the subcommittee of the Board for Customer Servicesaddresses the issues relating to the formulation of policiesand assessment of compliance with the same with the aimof consistent improvement in the quality of customer service.
Banks ChatBot "ADI" is already functional on its website. ADIassists customers in navigating through various pages ofthe website while providing an interactive experience to thecustomers. A few features of "ADI" are an instant responseto our customers queries, convenience to chat, available24*7, digital assistance, and a seamless chatting experience.Bank has also tied up with True Caller services for outboundsales calls. This means that whenever a call is made via anauthorized phone no. of the bank, Banks Logo and a "bluetick" will be visible to the customers on their phone screens,thus assuring the customers that the call is genuine. This willalso prevent customers from falling prey to fraud.
The Bank has also changed its toll-free number. It is now an8-digit number instead of the earlier 11-digit number. Thiswas done after it had come to notice that fraudsters obtaina number similar to Banks toll-free number and try to dupecustomers posing as Bank officials. This has been done witha view to safeguard our customers from vishing.
Handling Customer Complaints
Customers can very easily lodge their complaints directlywith the Bank by visiting its website of the Bank and clickingthe appropriate link. Alternatively, the customers may alsocall the toll-free number and get their complaints lodged inthe CRM portal of the Bank. Customers also have the optionof sending their complaints to Branches and other officesvia any mode. All the complaints will be entered into theCRM portal. The complaints are automatically addressed tothe concerned resolver based on the category of complaintselected at the time of lodging the complaint.
Bank also has an Internal Ombudsman mechanism in place,as per regulatory guidelines, to instil confidence in thecustomers regarding the resolution of their complaints.
Bank has also implemented an Online Dispute Redressal(ODR) mechanism for the speedy resolution of onlinetransaction relate complaints. Also, the blocking of BarodaConnect facility has been extended via Interactive VoiceResponse System (IVR) in the contact centre.
To monitor the quality of resolution being given to thecustomers, Bank subjects 100% of Non - ADC complaintsand 5-10% of ADC complaints to quality check. The outcomeof the quality check is shared with the concerned resolvergroup. To make the process of quality check more efficient
and less laborious, the Bank, in collaboration with IIT -Bombay has developed an AI Tool, which will assess thequality of redressal, thus reducing the time and manpowerrequired.
Branch Network
The Bank opened new 61 domestic branches and merged 18branches with existing branches during FY 2024.
Currency Chests
The number of currency chests stood at 138 as on 31st March2024. These chests support effective cash management inthe Bank as well as vaulting cash on behalf of RBI. All thecurrency chests as well as branches are provided with NoteSorting Machine (NSMs) as per RBI guidelines.
Risk Governance and Internal Controls
The increased focus on risk and the supporting governanceframework includes identification, measurement, monitoringand controlling of risks as well as ensuring that risk-takingactivities are in line with the Banks strategy and risk appetite.Often referred to as the "three lines of defense", each of thethree lines has an important role to play. These are:
i. First line of defense - This comprises of the Businessverticals and Operating units, as they are requiredto own and ensure the effective management of riskand compliance with regulations, Banks policies andguidelines.
ii. Second line of defense - This comprises of the riskmanagement function and compliance function. It isresponsible for identifying, measuring, monitoring andreporting risk on an enterprise-wide basis independentlyfrom the first line of defense.
iii. Third line of defense - An independent assurance isprovided by the internal audit function by conductinginternal risk-based and other audits. The reviews provideassurance to the Board that the overall governanceframework, including the risk governance framework, is effective and that policies and processes are in placeand consistently applied. The role of audit function isdefined and overseen by the Audit Committee of theBoard.
Risk Management and Compliance
Risk Management and Compliance are integral part ofthe banking business and the Bank aims to achieve anappropriate trade-off between risk and returns. To ensuresustainable and consistent growth, the Bank has developeda sound risk management framework so that the risksassumed by the Bank are properly assessed and monitored.The Bank undertakes business activities within the definedrisk appetite limits and policies approved by the Board ofDirectors of the Bank. Specific committees of the Board havebeen constituted to facilitate focussed oversight on variousrisks. The Board has also constituted a Risk ManagementCommittee of the Board which oversees the different typeof risks. It is supported by specialist Risk advisor on Board.Policies approved from time to time by the Board of Directorsor committees of the Board form the governing framework foreach type of risk.
Basel III Framework
The Banks risk management framework rests firmly onthe three Basel pillars, i.e. Pillar I- Capital Adequacy, PillarII- Supervisory Review and Pillar 11 I-Market Discipline. TheBank is strengthened by a healthy level of capital. TheBank maintains adequate levels of Common Equity Tier I,Additional Tier I and Tier II Capital including required CapitalConservation Buffer. Futuristic capital projection ensuresthat the Bank is always ready to raise additional capitalfrom the market as per business necessity. The position ofrisk weighted assets is constantly under strong vigil by thecredit risk and capital adequacy team. Adequate capital andrationalised risk weighted assets ensures strong Capital toRisk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) for the Bank.
The Bank has a comprehensive Internal Capital AdequacyAssessment Process and Stress Testing Policy in place.Capital Adequacy is assessed considering Pillar 2 risks suchas Liquidity Risk, Interest Rate Risk, Concentration Risk, etc.and stressed conditions (under both normal and adversescenarios) as per the extant guidelines. A brief outline of themechanism for identifying, evaluating and managing variousrisks within the Bank is given below:
Enterprise Risk Management
The diversity of the Banks business lines requires acomprehensive Enterprise Risk Management approach topromote a strong risk management culture to help in theearly identification, assessment, measurement, aggregationand management of all risks and to facilitate capital allocationamong various business lines. All material risk appetite limitsare approved within the overarching Risk Appetite Frameworkand are adequately hedged. Moreover, the Risk Appetitelimits are in alignment with the Business Projections.
The bank has instilled a robust risk culture across itsorganization, ensuring that all three lines of defenceare equipped to effectively manage risk. Roles and responsibilities pertaining to risk culture amongst variousstakeholders in upholding risk culture are clearly defined.Through continuous training efforts, employees at all levelsare equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary tonavigate and adhere to the banks risk appetite limits. Thisproactive approach not only enhances risk awareness butalso strengthens the overall risk culture, promoting a vigilantand informed workforce.
As part of its ongoing commitment to elevate its EnterpriseRisk Management practices, Bank has established adedicated framework to identify emerging risks and gaugetheir material significance. This framework is specificallydesigned to comprehensively identify all risks the Bank isexposed to. Additionally, it provides guidance for conductingmateriality assessments to pinpoint key risks that couldpotentially impact the Banks objectives and strategiesadversely.
Climate Risk
The Bank recognizes the need for addressing climate riskto foster sustainable business growth and is committedto minimizing the impacts arising out of it. Accordingly,the Bank has started taking steps to mitigate the climaterisks by incorporating environmental factors into its creditassessment processes and it is being further strengthened inview of the challenges emerging in Environmental, Social andGovernance (ESG) space.
Through initiatives like green finance, the bank is focusing onoffering green and sustainable products to support renewableenergy generation, energy efficiency, clean mobility, andother environmentally friendly practices. These efforts aimto strengthen the banks financial resilience in the face of achanging climate. Bank has been actively collaborating withnational and international agencies to address climate risk.
The Bank is establishing a Climate Risk & Sustainability cellas part of Risk Management function for alignment of its riskmanagement practices with climate risk/incorporation ofclimate risk into its existing risk management practices.
ESG Risk rating of our bank has been reviewed bySustainalytics, and improved from High Risk to Medium Risk,ranking at 329 amongst 1060 Peer Banks, as updated onFebruary 27, 2024.
Credit Risk
Credit risk is managed through a Board approved frameworkthat sets out policies, procedures and reporting which is in linewith best practices. Bank has a strong credit appraisal andrisk management framework for identification, measurement,monitoring and control of the risks in credit exposures.
Bank uses various Internal Credit Risk Assessment Modelsand scorecards to assess borrower-wise credit risk. VariousCredit Risk models for internal credit ratings of the borrowerswere developed in-house. They are reviewed and backtested through comprehensive validation including externalvalidation. Bank has recently upgraded its Internal CreditRating system by adding three MSME score card models tobring in efficiency and strong data management system. The internal ratings are validated by independent rating validatingauthority.
The Bank has put in place prudential caps across industries,sectors and borrowers with an objective to build a resilientportfolio and de-risk from portfolio concentration. The Bankhas developed in-house models for risk assessment ofvarious Countries, State Governments, Group Borrowersetc. and setting exposure caps. As a part of enhancedexposure monitoring, quarterly reviews are carried out for theBanks key exposures, segments, industries and sectors. Adedicated team tracks internal & external developments toassess impact on the portfolio performance and recommendpro-active remedial actions. The Bank also conductscomprehensive Thematic review comprising sector outlook &other event-specific impact studies. Bank has taken initiativesfor automation of CRAR and Exposure computation.
Adequate attention is given to the independence of the riskevaluators and business functions for establishing a soundcredit culture and a well-structured credit approval process.
Market Risk
Market Risk implies the risk of loss of earnings or economicvalue due to adverse changes in market rates or prices oftrading portfolio. The change in economic value of differentmarket products is largely a function of change in factorssuch as interest rates, exchange rates, economic growth andbusiness confidence. The Bank has well defined policies tocontrol and monitor its treasury functions which undertakesvarious market risk positions.
Mid-Office as a part of Risk Management, measures andmonitors interest rate risk in its trading book through risklimits like modified duration, PV01 and Value at Risk (VaR)on a daily basis. The foreign exchange risk is measuredand monitored in terms of Net Overnight Open Positionlimits (NOOPL), VaR limits, Individual Gap Limits (IGL),Aggregate Gap Limits (AGL) and total Aggregate Gap Limit(TAGL) on a daily basis. Equity price risk is measured andmonitored through VaR limits and portfolio size limits, etc.At a transaction level, stop loss limits and dealer wise limitshave been prescribed and implemented as per the extantguidelines of the Bank. MidOffice also conducts back testingof the VaR numbers on a daily basis. Under its stress testingframework, the Bank conducts comprehensive stress testsof its trading book portfolio on a quarterly basis. Risk-returnanalysis of treasury trading portfolio is also conducted on aquarterly basis. The market risk capital charge for the Bankis computed by mid office as per the Standardised DurationApproach (SDA) in line with the regulatory guidelines.
Asset Liability Management
Liquidity Risk is the inability to meet expected and unexpectedcash and collateral obligations at reasonable cost. In theBank, the liquidity risk is measured and monitored throughFlow Approach and Stock Approach and other prudentialstipulations as per the latest guidelines of the RBI. TheBank has implemented the Basel III Framework on LiquidityStandards - Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), Liquidity RiskMonitoring Tools and LCR Disclosure Standards. The LCR standard aims to ensure that banks maintain an adequatelevel of unencumbered High - Quality Liquid Assets thatcan be converted into cash to meet liquidity needs for a30-calendar days time horizon under a significantly severeliquidity stress scenario. The Bank has always been wellabove the stipulated level of LCR on a solo basis as well ason a consolidated basis. The RBI has also introduced NSFR(Net Stable Funding Ratio) with effect from 01st October2021 which promotes resilience over a longer-term timehorizon whereby Banks are required to fund their activitieswith more stable sources on an ongoing basis. The NSFRseeks to ensure that Bank maintains a stable funding profilein relation to the composition of its assets and off-balancesheet activities. The Banks NSFR has been well above thestipulated level of 100%.
Interest Rate Risk in the Banking Book (IRRBB) arises dueto mismatch between rate sensitive assets and rate sensitiveliabilities which may adversely impact the earnings/economicvalue of equity of the Bank with the change in interest ratesin the market. For measurement and monitoring of interestrate risk in banking book, the Bank uses risk managementtools such as Traditional Gap Analysis, Earning at Risk andDuration Gap Approach. The short-term impact of interestrate movements on Net Interest Income (NII) is workedout through the ‘Earnings at Risk approach by taking intoconsideration parallel shift in yield curve, yield curve risk,basis risk and embedded options risk. The long-term impactof interest rate movements is measured and monitoredthrough change in Market Value of Equity.
Operational Risk
The Bank has a well-defined Operational Risk ManagementFramework (ORMF) and Operational Risk ManagementSystem (ORMS) for effective management of OperationalRisk in the organization. ORMF comprises the organizationalstructure for management of Operational Risk, GovernanceStructures, Policies, Procedures and Processes whereasORMS consists of the systems used by the Bank inidentifying, measuring, monitoring, controlling and mitigatingOperational Risk. The Bank has a web based OperationalRisk Management System for data capturing and for systemicand integrated management of Operational Risk. In ourendeavour to use the best of technology, we have procureda web based Operational Risk Management System forOperational Risk Compliance & Governance. Monitoring ofKey Risk Indicators Programme (KRI), Risk & Control Self-Assessment Programme (RCSA) and Root Cause Analysisof various loss incidents strengthen the control environment.The Bank has created a repository of Internal Loss Data aspart of Operational Risk Management. Ongoing review ofproducts and processes in the light of the changing businessenvironment further strengthens the risk culture. Effortsare made for inculcation of risk culture, values, beliefs,knowledge, attitudes and understanding about risk amongthe staff. In order to ensure this, Campaigns are carried outto create awareness in the staff by the means of emails,workshops, on-the-job trainings, webinars, meetings, fliers,magazines, E-Learning modules etc . Furthermore, throughstrategic utilization of social media platforms, initiatives have been deployed to increase customer awareness regardingprevalent fraud incidents, accompanied by actionableguidance to mitigate susceptibility to such fraudulentactivities.
Business Continuity Plan
Bank has a detailed and effective Business ContinuityManagement (BCM) framework in place for ensuringcontinuity of operations and rendering customer serviceat the Branches and Offices during disruptions. Theframework is in line with the guidelines issued by RBI andglobal best practices. The Bank continuously works towardsstrengthening the business continuity preparedness.Through the exhibition of the Business Continuity Plan,the bank provides customers with the assurance that theirservices will persist in being dependable and secure, evenin the face of adversity. Bank optimises resource allocationwith Business Continuity Plan. Basis the understanding ofrisks, Business Impact Analysis (BIA) being conducted andenabler dependencies mapping for all the critical processeshelps banks allocate resources more efficiently, investing inresilience-critical areas and cutting non-critical spending. TheBank has ISO 27001:2013 certified Data Centre and DisasterRecovery site. Banks Disaster Recovery site is capable ofhandling the CBS and other functions of the bank in case ofany disruption at Data Centre.
Compliance
Compliance function in the Bank is one of the key elementsin its corporate governance structure. The compliancefunction in the Bank is adequately enabled and anindependent function. The compliance function ensuresstrict observance of all statutory provisions contained invarious legislations such as Banking Regulation Act, ReserveBank of India Act, Anti Money Laundering Act etc. as well asother regulatory guidelines issued from time to time. It alsoensures adherence to the Banks internal policies and fairpractices code. The Bank has compliance policy, outliningthe compliance philosophy of the Bank, role and set-up of thecompliance vertical, composition of its staff and their specificresponsibilities.
The compliance function advises senior managementand the Board on the position of Banks compliance withapplicable laws, rules and global standards and keepsthem informed of developments in the area. It also educatesemployees about compliance issues by conducting periodictraining and workshops for business staff and designatedcompliance officers. Knowledge management tools hasalso been uploaded on the Banks website. The Bank hasimplemented a web-based compliance management solutionfor certification and monitoring of various regulatory, statutoryand internal guidelines at each level in the Bank for furtherstrengthening the compliance function. The Bank has alsoautomated the process for obtaining information from the"Insiders" as defined in the Securities and Exchange Boardof India (SEBI) Code of Fair Disclosure and Conduct.
Amongst several activities, the domestic compliance functionconducts on-site compliance test checks on more than 101parameters on KYC-AML guidelines and other parameters of compliance through Regional Compliance Officers (RCOs)by using web-based tool - Onsite Compliance Testingand Reporting System. As many as 25% branches arerandomly selected on a quarterly basis. Bank also conductsonsite compliance test check of various functions on halfyearly basis. Off-site compliance test check of around 52parameters on issues related to KYC/AML guidelines andother parameters of compliance is carried out on a monthlybasis through the web-based tool - Offsite ComplianceReporting and Monitoring System. The above activities helpsin maintaining a robust compliance posture of the Bank.
An annual group wide compliance plan is prepared andregular monitoring is carried out for ensuring adherence tothe plan. Bank also undertake Compliance Risk Assessment(CRA) of the Bank annually by sourcing the parameters fromRBIs Tranche-III data template, Onsite/Offsite/Vertical Testcheck reports etc. and derive CRA score. Bank also usesCRA matrix to prepare Risk Oriented Activity Plan for timelycompliance of non-complied Regulatory parameters.
Bank has also taken various new initiatives such as creationof Data Analytics Cell (DAC) for data dump analysis inorder to identify the gaps in the system and processes andto take corrective action. Product analysis is carried out toensure that the new / existing product is working as per theexpectation and fulfilling all Regulatory guidelines. Similarly,Circular vetting is done to ensure that the guidelines issuedby the vertical commensurate with the RBI / Statutoryguidelines. Moreover, some Important Regulatory and/ orStatutory guidelines had been identified, being of primeimportance, since any breach in these guidelines may inviteadverse observation of the Regulator. These guidelines aretermed as Key Compliance Indicators (KCI) and monitored atperiodic interval to take corrective action immediately incaseof breach/deviation. These activities shall help the Bank infurther strengthening the compliance posture of the Bank.
Bank has also developed a portal to collect the data fromfield functionaries on penalties, displeasure letters, warningletters, etc. on real time basis. It enables the Bank to monitorthe data centrally and to take corrective action immediately.
In the process of capacity building, the Bank impartedtraining to all compliance officers and nominated officials tovarious external training programmes conducted by reputedinstitutions on latest developments in the areas of compliance.In order to promote professionalism, the Bank is encouragingstaff members to pursue professional courses from reputedinstitutes like Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF),Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists(ACAMS) etc.
There were no significant incidents reported during FY 2023-24 relating to compliance failure other than a monetarypenalty of 4.34 crore (Rupees Four crore and thirty fourlakh only) for non-compliance with certain directions issuedby RBI on ‘Creation of a Central Repository of Large CommonExposures - Across Banks dated September 11, 2013 readwith ‘Central Repository of Information on Large Credits(CRILC) - Revision in Reporting dated February 13, 2014,‘Loans and Advances - Statutory and Other Restrictions, and ‘Reserve Bank of India (Interest Rate on Deposits)Directions, 2016. Further, onboarding of customers ontothe ‘bob World mobile application is suspended basedon certain material supervisory concerns observed in themanner of onboarding of customers onto mobile applicationwith effect from 10th October 2023.
KYC/ AML Compliance
The Bank has a well-defined KYC-AML-CFT policy. On thebasis of this policy, KYC norms, AML standards and CFTMeasures and obligations of the bank under Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, are implemented.The Bank electronically files Cash Transaction Reports(CTRs), Counterfeit Currency Reports (CCRs), Non-profitorganizations Transaction Reports (NTRs) and cross borderwire transfer (EFT) reports to Financial Intelligence UnitIndia (FIU-IND), New Delhi on its portal every month withinprescribed timelines.
The Bank has an established Central Transaction MonitoringUnit (CTMU) and put in place AML Solution for monitoringof transactions and detection of suspicious activities incustomers accounts on the basis of predefined alertparameters in the system. System based risk categorization(money laundering risk categorization) of customers is doneon dynamic basis. For Periodic Updation of KYC (ReKYC),Bank has developed an automated process for identificationof customers due for ReKYC and sending SMS/email/physical notices to notify them to complete their ReKYC.Bank also provides Digital / Non-Face-To-Face channels tothe Individual customers to complete their Re-KYC withoutvisiting their Bank branch.
Bank has implemented Central KYC (CKYC) process forregistration of newly on-boarded customers KYC informationon Central KYC Registry. CKYC number was allotted to 736.08lakh customers as of March 31,2024.
Bank has also implemented Video based CustomerIdentification Process (V-CIP) as an alternate method ofestablishing the customers identity for on boarding newResident Indian Individual customers.
Internal Audit
The Banks Central Internal Audit Division headed by GeneralManager / Chief General Manager administers various typesof Audits i.e. Internal Audit, IS Audit, Credit Audit, ConcurrentAudit & Management Audit. Internal Audit function in theBank is an independent activity and has sufficient standingand authority within the Bank. The Internal Audit Department,works under the guidance and supervision of the AuditCommittee of the Board. Banks Internal Audit Functionworks in close co-ordination with other Assurance functionsi.e Risk Management Department & Compliance Department.
Banks Central internal Audit Division operates through -22-Zonal Internal Audit Divisions to carry out internal Audit ofBranches / offices as per the periodicity decided by RBIAPolicy. All Branches, Centralized Units, Administrative Officesare covered under Risk Based Internal Audit. The summarizedrisk perception of all 8242 Branches & Specialized IntegratedTreasury Branch as on 31st March 2024 are as under:
• Low Risk Branch - 6933 Branches (84.11 %)
• Medium Risk Branch - 1006 Branches (12.20 %)
• High Risk Branch - 262 Branches (3.18 %)
• 41- Branches with no Rating (New Branches)
• Specialized Integrated Treasury Branch was in Low Risk.
Total -1216- Branches and other units are covered underConcurrent Audit covering Banks 51.02 % Deposit, 70.20 %Advances & overall 59.51 % Business coverage. All CategoryB Branches, Currency Chests & Centralized Processing Cellsare covered under Concurrent Audit.
Credit Audit is carried out of all Fresh Sanctions/ ExistingAccounts including Retail Loans and Restructured Accountswith aggregate exposure of 10.00 Crores and above (FB +NFB) and 5% of borrower accounts are randomly selectedfrom fresh Accounts and Reviewed with increase havingaggregate exposure of 1.00 Crore above but below 10.00Crores (FB + NFB).
All Banks branches are subjected to Information System (IS)Audit to assess the IT-related risks as part of the RBIA of theBranches. IS Audit of Data Centre & IT Applications are alsocarried out periodically by a team of CISA /DISA qualified ISAuditors and external CERT-in Firms.
Few Key initiatives include the following:
• Revised framework of Concurrent Audit is implementedand Daily & weekly Report is introduced apart fromexisting Monthly Reporting.
• Audit Automation Software is implemented for Audit,tracking of Compliance & Dashboard.
• Centralized Exceptional Monitoring Unit is establishedfor ongoing monitoring of exceptions as per system databased on pre-defined logic under -70- parameters.
• Offsite Surveillance Cell is established for offsitesurveillance and data analysis as per different scenarios.
External Review of Internal Audit Framework is carried outby External Firm as and when felt necessary. Last suchassessment was carried out by M/s E & Y LLP during FY 2022-23 and as per their assessment Internal Audit Framework inBank is robust and one of the best in peer Banks.
Credit Monitoring
Monitoring of the credit portfolio is essential to maintainand improve the asset quality of the Bank and minimizecredit risk. The main objective of Credit Monitoring functionis to maintain asset quality, ensure Compliance of sanctionterms and end use of funds. It must ensure that the creditassets remain in regular category, to make endeavour forupgrading asset quality of identified stressed accounts andtake corrective action to prevent slippage of the accounts.The Department has been using various tools and methodsfor identifying and monitoring stressed accounts with signsof weakness/ potential default/ delinquencies to ensure goodasset quality coupled with containment of probable slippageseffectively.
Tools for efficient monitoring & control process: -
Early Warning Signal: A fully tech based EWS solution isimplemented in our Bank since August 2020. Our EWSsystem is fully automated with inbuilt well-defined workflowproviding a complete solution. Alerts are generated based onboth internal (CBS and CREMON) and External Data (MCA,news feeds) sources. The alerts generated in an accounthelps the Bank for identifying incipient weakness and initiateproactive timely remedial measures. The solution helps theBank in early identification of RFA/fraud in accounts (if any).This solution also enables the branches to closely monitorthe accounts with appropriate resolution/ action. Duringthe current financial year, the Bank has revamped EWSportal with adding more features to improve its efficiencyand effectiveness to identify stress and early delinquenciesin the accounts. In addition, a Health Parameter (HP) hasalso been introduced for borrower which is a combinationof internal rating (BOBICON) and EWS rating of a borrower.Further, EWS portal for international territories has also beenlaunched for better monitoring of advances of our overseasbranches.
CRILC Reporting: Identification of the accounts in SMAcategory triggers mitigating steps, such as follow-up forregularization, restructuring etc. In terms of RBIs guidelines,stressed accounts with credit exposure of 5 crore and aboveare reported to RBI on CRILC platform on a weekly basis.
Analytical Dashboard: Bank has devolved various analyticalDashboard for identification of stressed accounts (Viz SMADashboard, Future Demand Dashboard, Collection efficiencyDashboard, Technical stress Dashboard for focusedmonitoring.
System based prediction of Asset Classification: Bankhas a predictive program to identify the probable slippagesshowing overdue of more than two months period based onrecord of recovery as well as for accounts showing technicalirregularities such as non-submission of Stock/Book Debtstatement, review pendency, insufficient/ no credit in CCaccounts, inadequate margins in LABOD/ODBOD accountsetc. These triggers focus on taking timely corrective actionto prevent downgrading of such accounts. Those accountsare monitored specifically by various operational units forminimizing the slippage of standard assets.
Credit Audit: The purpose of Credit Audit is to ensurecompliance of pre and post disbursement terms of sanctionterms/ covenants, whether the disbursing officer, beforeparting with the Banks funds, has taken all necessarymeasures for creation/ perfection of security with a view toensure enforceability of the said securities as per sanctionterms. This facilitates prompt corrective action, whereverrequired, without waiting for the regular Audit/ Inspection,which usually takes place with a time lag. Credit Audit isintegrated with the Core Banking System/Finacle to monitorit on real time basis.
Stock Audit: We ensure that Stock & Receivables audit isconducted timely as per given periodicity in all the eligibleaccounts and active/ preventive steps are taken whereverwarranted. The stock audit is applicable for standard advance accounts having working capital exposure of 1 crore andabove. It is required to be conducted annually for suchaccounts with exposure below 5 crore, while for accountsof 5 crore and above, it is to be conducted on a half yearlybasis. Assets showing inherent signs of weakness, such asout of order position, overdue Bills under Letters of Credit,invocation of guarantees, review overdue etc., which pose athreat to the Banks asset quality, are followed up at variousplatforms & levels.
Daily classification of SMA or NPA: The Bank hasautomated system for identification of borrower accounts asSMA or NPA as part of day-end process for the relevant dateto have better transparency in identification of asset quality asper RBI guidelines.
Other monitoring tools:
• Bank has appointed Agency for Special Monitoring(ASMs) for specialized monitoring in accounts of 250crore & above for verification of transaction monitoring,inspections etc.
• The Bank has also digitized the stock and book Debtstatement submission, which is real time and userfriendly.
• The Bank has also initiated many tools in creditmonitoring for robust monitoring like GST ITR &Statement analyser to analyse, track and monitor theborrowers accounts periodically.
• Digital monitoring reports at pre-determined period areregularly evaluated & taken up for corrective measureswherever required in respect of big accounts of 1 crore& above.
• Bank has launched a Dashboard to monitor the cases ofDLP violation to improve credit discipline.
Vigilance
The Vigilance administration in the Bank is professionallymanaged and an integral part of management function. Itpromotes clean business transactions, professionalism,productivity and ethical practices apart from control, monitorand supervision of various vigilance functions. The Bankhas a very strong and transparent Vigilance Administrationheaded by Chief Vigilance Officer who oversees all vigilancefunctions of the Bank as per the guidelines from the CentralVigilance Commission. Participative / Proactive & Preventivevigilance are the important functions of Banks vigilanceadministration. The Chief Vigilance Officer is supported byAdditional Chief Vigilance Officer.
The vigilance machinery in the Bank also imparts knowledgeat all levels about vigilance functions, extends help to variousdisciplinary authorities and appointing authorities to actswiftly and correctly in examining issues arising out of frauds,complaints and serious irregularities pointed out in variousinspection reports of branches/ offices.
Vigilance setup at Zonal level conducts preventive audit ofall branches at regular intervals and to act proactively oninformation controls the damage at bare minimum level.
The vigilance function in the Bank consists of three sections:
1. Preventive Vigilance: Preventive measures hold greatersignificance in containing damage than detectionand punishment of corrupt and other malpractices.Preventive measures such as inspections of sensitiveareas of business, identification of sensitive postsand scrutiny of personnel posted thereon, ensuringobservance of conduct rules, monthly meetings atbranch level to discuss branch specific vulnerabilities,training programs for staff, regular scrutiny of inspectionsand audit reports and circulars on preventive vigilanceregularly issued and circulated by various businessverticals were undertaken to reduce the number ofvigilance cases.
2. Detective Vigilance: Detective Vigilance includesconducting regular and surprise inspection in thesensitive area to detect if there have been any instancesof corrupt or improper practices by the staff, undertakingprompt scrutiny of annual property returns and takefurther action if called for, gathering intelligence fromown source about the misconduct / malpractices,examining the same for logical conclusion throughappropriate action after due process.
3. Punitive Vigilance: In addition to ensuring thatemployees at all levels indulging in willful and mala fidetransgressions of rules and provisions are not allowedto go unpunished, the Bank also ensures that bonafide decisions taken in normal course of business areevaluated objectively and with required prudence.
The vigilance function in the Bank enables proactive decisionsby stressing on strengthening systems and proceduresthrough preventive vigilance administration. It also playsa major role in identifying and plugging loopholes andproviding inputs to the top management in framing policiesin fraud prevention. The turnaround time of disciplinary casesimproved due to proactive communication which helped inmotivating the employees with quick redressals.
Legal Service
The Bank has a vibrant legal department consisting of qualifiedand experienced legal officers. The main role of the LegalDepartment is to support and to provide assistance for variousmatters relating to Opinion, Documentation, Litigation, etc.,referred by or in relation to various functional departmentsof the Bank. The department also provides support forreferences submitted by the various Zones, Regional Offices,domestic and foreign branches, and subsidiaries of the Bankon the matters related to legal aspects.
Further, in order to meet the digitalization of banking loanprocess, a set of documents for retail and SME facilitiescompatible with digital lending platform has been preparedwhich will enable Banks customers to execute the documentsthrough electronic means. Loan Document Manual has beenrevisited and simplified the documents.
In order to pace with the digitalization process, "Portal forVetting of Loan Documents" has been developed with thehelp of IT Department to ease the process by enabling the
Law Officers to attend the same from their office withoutphysically visiting the Branches. The portal was launched on28.04.2023 and made mandatory for vetting of documentsas per Banks Global Credit Policy through the Portal only.Phase II of the portal is under process, which will include theprovision for uploading of documents pertaining to ‘Reviewwith Increase, ‘Takeover of account from other bank/FI,‘Consortium and ‘Creation of security after disbursement.
Additionally, in the existing Advocate Portal, second phasewith regard to assignment of work and reviewing advocatesperformance are made available.
Further, the Department has been promoting environmentof knowledge sharing by issuing ‘Circulars, ‘Legal NewsFlash, etc. regarding ever changing set of laws, latestamendments and interpretation of laws by Courts affectingthe Banking sector. In association with APEX Academy and areputed Law Firm, initiated Training program for Law Officersto groom them in specific legal fields as well as to makethem conversant with ever changing enactments, rules andregulations.
As on 31.03.2024, total pending cases (Litigation AgainstBank) before the various Courts/Forum/Tribunals are 3608.We succeeded to get disposal of total 873 cases duringfinancial year 2023-24. Out of total disposed of cases 618cases (i.e. 70.8 %) were decided in favour of Bank, 62 cases(i.e 7.10 %) were settled and 193 cases (i.e 22.10 % ) weredecided against Bank. Further, 10 cases (having monetaryvalue more than one crore and above) out of total decidedcases were also disposed of during the Financial Year 2024.
Human Resources Management
Bank considers its employees as most valuable asset. Bankhas a talented workforce of over 74000 employees. The Bankhas initiated various capacity building programmes to retainand groom its talent pool which is aligned with the aspirationand growth story of the Bank. In order to infuse fresh bloodand new talent, Bank is following a comprehensive plan toensure that the recruitment process is strategic and effective,aligned with the organizations long-term goals. Bank is alsoonboarding external talent in strategic areas to supplementthe existing human capital.
The Bank has taken proactive steps in maintaining positiveemployee relations, addressing workplace issues, resolvingconflicts and fostering a positive workplace environment.Timely revision of perquisites and benefits, revision ofemployee policies with more employee centric provisions andinitiatives in the direction of maintaining employee wellnessand fitness, workplace counselling, engagement activities,life cycle based training programme have been undertakento create robust and competent workforce which is fullyengaged to meet the dynamic challenges of the Bankingindustry.
Bank has resorted to various measures to rightfully engagethe talent and the same has resulted in better financialperformance. Banks initiative in this direction has beenrecognized by the industry and Bank has been awardedfor ‘Best Community Impact Initiative under Employee
Happiness Award by Kamikaze B2B Media. Bank has alsobeen certified as ‘Great Place to Work for the second time ina row by the Great Place to Work Institute India.
In addition to the above, the following important employeecentric initiatives have also been undertaken during theyear, which bear a direct and significant impact on Banksperformance.
Learning and Development
Bank of Baroda believes that employee development is anintegral part of the organizations strategic plan. The Bankendeavors to create a learning organization and to buildorganizational capability for setting performance standards.The Bank believes in creating career principles and utilizing amix of available channels to impart training.
More than 58,326 Banks employees received trainingthrough the Apex Academy, 18 Zonal Academies and4 Baroda Satellite Learning Units, along with eLearningthrough Baroda Gurukul in this financial year which helped inimproving their performance.
In FY 2024, Bank has leveraged its Learning ManagementSystem (Baroda Gurukul) to facilitate learning anddevelopment across the Bank, which has helped Bank toalign training needs as per business goals and ensuringcompliance. Significant utilization of digital process andLMS platform helped Bank to impart learning to staff intimely manner and extending benefit of cost optimization toshareholders.
The Bank has designed role based specialized trainingprogrammes for Business Heads viz. Regional Heads /DRMs / Branch Heads etc. The Bank has been placing astrong emphasis on the acquisition of new age skills andIDP based training to enhance its human capital. In line withthis, it has introduced simulation games that replicate real-life business scenarios to better educate its staff. To furtherenhance the learning experience, the Bank has adopted ablended learning approach that combines traditional anddigital methods, with 365*24 availability.
In a collaborative effort to synergize external resources andpromote a hybrid learning model, the Bank has partneredwith prominent organizations such as AAFM, CRISIL and NIITto provide training to its Wealth Management Executives.This pilot phase will allow the Bank to refine its approach andfine-tune the training process to better serve the learning anddevelopment needs of its employees.
Overall, the Bank is committed to providing its employeeswith the necessary training and development opportunitiesto succeed in their roles and achieve their career aspirations.
Coaching and Mentoring Programme
In order to create a future proof leadership pipeline forvarious critical roles, a scientific succession plan has beenadopted whereby a sufficient succession pool of executivesfor each of the critical roles has been created. Bank hasalso resorted to Competency Assessment of its executivesand Individual Developmental Plans have been created for enabling them in taking up higher assignment. Bank has alsoinitiated Coaching & Mentoring Programme for its executivesby way of engaging internal as well as External Coaches forthis purpose.
Career Progression
Concerted efforts have been taken by the Bank for fosteringcareer progression of employees for rewarding them fortheir performance and motivation. Horizontal movement ofofficers across different functions and overseas placementsopportunities are provided to employees for wider exposure.
‘Voice of Barodians - Employee Engagement Survey
As an employee centric organization, Bank firmly believes inparticipating in a two-way communication with employees forsharing views & experiences and to chalk out better waysof accomplishing our organizational goals. Bank has beenconducting ‘Voice of Barodians Employee EngagementSurveys along these lines over the last few years and basedon the survey outcome, has fine-tuned the existing policiesand practices, launched new initiatives for the benefit ofour employees. As per the outcomes of the latest ‘Voice ofBarodians Employee Engagement Survey carried out inMarch 2024, the overall employee engagement score for theBank stood at 71%.
Baroda Anubhuti Program
To enhance employee engagement at all level, Bank hasintroduced Baroda Anubhuti Program which has beendesigned with an objective of augmenting ‘EmployeeExperience through various ‘Engagement Activities. Theseactivities aid in fostering the team spirit and belongingnessat every level of the Bank, resulting in improved employeeengagement and better financial performance.
In furtherance to being certified as Great Place to Work,Bank also focuses on its responsibility towards the society.Every year on the occasions of Banks Foundation Day on20th July and the Republic Day, various Community ServiceActivities were carried out and all employees wholeheartedlyparticipated in these activities. During the year 2023-24,Bank has carried out following CSR activities under BarodaAnubhuti Program:
• Blood Donation - more than 18,000 units of Blood
• Distribution of Saplings/ Tree Plantation - around 49,500saplings planted
• Cleanliness Drives - more than 4,000 drives in variouslocalities
• Distribution of materials and miscellaneous items topoor and needy - more than 1,00,000 items
• Distribution of materials and miscellaneous items to oldage homes, orphanages, disability centres etc. - morethan 77,000 items
• Conducting Health Check-up Camps - more than 8,000people were covered
• Renovation of Iron Bridge to Kadamakudy Island Villagein collaboration with Indian Navy - Ernakulam
Employee Wellness Initiatives
As an organization with progressive HR practices, Bankhas always placed a strong emphasis on the well-being ofits employees and has consistently implemented initiativesto inspire them to lead healthier lifestyles. This commitmentto employee wellness is rooted in our belief that the healthand happiness of our staff members are fundamental to ourcollective success. We believe that by fostering a cultureof well-being, we are not only enriching the lives of ouremployees but also strengthening the overall vitality andresilience of our organization.
Every year Bank is celebrating November as ‘WellnessMonth for our employees during which various wellnessprogrammes viz. Yoga Classes, Online Webinars & Talks withexperts on Health and Wellness issues are being organizedto sensitize the employees for maintaining better mental andphysical health.
Bank has entered into tie-up with leading hospitals whereemployees can undergo comprehensive Health Check-upalong with their spouse, the cost of which is being reimbursed/ borne by the Bank.
Employee Assistance Programme
Bank has introduced ‘Workplace Counselling for theemployees under the ‘Employee Assistance Program (EAP)helping employees seek counselling for mental health issuesand coping mechanisms.
During calendar year 2023, a focused outreach programwas conducted in association with ‘EAP India (the serviceprovider) by conducting workshops for the employees on thetopic ‘From Stress to Strength: Using Emotional Intelligenceto Thrive under Pressure. More than -100- workshops wereconducted across the country covering 4,600+ employees.
Employees have utilized EAP Indias counselling servicesto overcome their issues related to their mental andpsychological health. These counselling services werefacilitated through multiple channels such as face-to-facecounselling, phone-call and video conferencing, emails andchats. Additionally, online support groups were formed onWomen Empowerment, Parenting support and Addictionsupport aiding self-generating solutions within the groups.
Further, in order to raise awareness about mental healthissues, Mental Health Roadshows "Road Trip to Happiness"in Mumbai and Vadodara were organized featuring mentalgames, recreational activities, movie time and nutritionistcounselling.
School Tie-up for admission of Children of employees
In continued pursuit to be an employer of choice and as apart of employee centric initiative, Bank has entered into atie-up arrangement with two renowned and reputed chain ofschools having PAN India presence viz. ‘Ryan InternationalGroup of Institutions and ‘VIBGYOR Group of Schools whichenables hassle free admissions to the wards of the employeesat the time of their relocation on transfer.
Thrust On Diversity & Inclusion
Bank is committed to create diverse workforce and followsa non-discriminatory and equal opportunity policy for allits employees and is transparent in all issues relating topromotion, career path, transfer policy and employee benefit/ welfare schemes. The Bank has also put in place a DEIPolicy for promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Further,in recognition of the concomitant responsibilities of women,the Bank has put in place various facilities to support womenemployees such as Sabbatical Leave, Health Check-upprogramme for women employees, establishment of Crechefacility etc. among other initiatives.
The Bank has put in place special provision for deploymentof women. Bank has also taken Women centric initiativesunder Banks Employee Assistance Program for creating anurturing environment for women to come together to shareexperiences, exchange knowledge and uplift each other inboth personal and professional aspects of life, discussingand addressing issues like self-care, burnout, workplace,and personal challenges etc. and Counselling to womenemployees joining after career break (post Maternity/sabbatical leave) to help our lady employees in coping with theemotional and logistical challenges associated with returningto work. The Bank is working on Work from Anywhere optionto lady employees post expiry of maternity leave.
The Bank conducts special training programme on capabilitybuilding and motivation for its women employees and alsocreates awareness on POSH guidelines.
Ex-Employees
To acknowledge the invaluable services rendered by ex-employees & to recognize their contribution, the Bank extendsseveral welfare schemes to them such as Holiday Homefacilities, consultation with Part Time Medical Consultants ofthe Bank, Special Medical Aid & Reimbursement of MedicalInsurance Premium paid by them.
The Bank is always considerate towards bringingconvenience to its retired staff members. Hence, in order tomake HR services convenient for them, important serviceslike generation of Pension Pay Slip, PPO, Tax computation,Holiday Home booking and submission of TE/DA claims isintegrated in HR Connect application which can be accessedon mobile 24x7.
Reservation Cell
An exclusive cell has been functioning to monitor thereservation and other enabling provisions for employeesbelonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) /Scheduled Tribes (ST)/ Person with Disabilities (PWD) /Ex-Serviceman (Ex-SM) andOther Backward Classes (OBC).
Executives in the rank of General Managers are appointedas Chief Liaison Officers for SC/ST/PWD and Ex-Servicemanemployees and for OBC employees respectively who ensurecompliance of various guidelines pertaining to them.
With effect from 1st February, 2019 reservation of 10% forEconomically Weaker Sections (EWS) in direct recruitment inthe Bank was implemented.
The Bank provides reservations for Persons with Disabilities(PwDs) at the rate of 4% of the total vacancies arising inofficer, (identified posts), clerical and sub-staff cadre in a year,as per Government guidelines.
| Caste category wise count as on March 31,2024 | ||||||
| Cadre | Total | GEN | SC | ST | OBC | EWS |
| Officer | 42067 | 18916 | 7422 | 3317 | 12386 | 26 |
| Clerk | 25996 | 10907 | 4273 | 2695 | 8053 | 68 |
| Sub staff | 6164 | 1814 | 2009 | 610 | 1731 | 0 |
| Total | 74227 | 31637 | 13704 | 6622 | 22170 | 94 |
| % to total staffstrength | 42.62 | 18.46 | 8.92 | 29.87 | 0.13 | |
| Cadre | PwD | Ex-SM |
| Officer | 1090 | 605 |
| Clerk | 1037 | 3040 |
| Sub staff | 114 | 506 |
| Total | 2241 | 4151 |
| % to total staff strength | 3.02 | 5.59 |
Periodical Meetings: The Bank holds Quarterly meetingswith the representatives of All India Bank of Baroda SC/ST(AIBOBSCST) Employees Welfare Association and HalfYearly meetings with the representatives of All India Bank ofBaroda OBC Employees (AIBOBOBC) Welfare Association,for addressing their concerns.
Workshops and Training Programmes: Bank conductsfollowing training programmes every year for members ofAIBOBSCST Employees Welfare Association and AIBOBOBCEmployees Welfare Association and Liaison Officers of SC/STs and OBCs at its various training academies:
• Pre-promotion training for SC/ST/OBC candidates.
• Workshop on reservation policy.
• Training programme on disciplinary proceedings.Document Management System
The Bank is one of the pioneer PSBs in initiating implementationof Document Management System (DMS) (First among PSBsto implement Records Digitisation) by engaging professionalcompanies to manage the records with an aim to give ourBranches a leaner look having better feel and experienceto our customers. Under Records Management System(RMS) physical records are barcoded, indexed and movedto Vendors warehouse for storage thereof, which can beretrieved any time as per Banks requirement. The spacewhich is unlocked, is being utilized for customer serviceefficiency, better branch ambience etc.
Document Management System (DMS), is a majorstep towards paperless banking under green initiative,encompasses scanning of identified documents (LoanFiles/ HR documents/Legal documents and other criticaldocuments) and uploading the scanned data on "BarodaDocument Management System (BDMS) server, a digitalrepository.
This is an ambitious project of our Bank under which around56.60 Cr images have so far been scanned covering morethan -7042- branches/offices. Also, around -3.19- lac sq. ft. ofspace has been unlocked in identified Branches of the Bank.
After successful implementation of Records ManagementSystem (RMS) / Document Management System (DMS)in Banks Metro & Urban and identified branches of Semi-urban, it is now being implemented in the remaining 1530Semi-Urban and Rural Branches /offices of the Bank.
Premises Re-engineering
• Could create State of the Art Office for IFSCB Unit atGIFT City, Gandhinagar.
• Renovation of Banks Heritage Building at MMO,Horniman Circle, Mumbai, creating space foraccommodating around 160 Staff.
• Construction of Banks Commercial cum ResidentialBuilding at Ramnagar, Coimbatore been completed.
• Construction of 5 RSETI Buildings completed.
• Over 95% of eligible procurement were made throughGeM Portal (1263 Crores).
Green/other Initiatives
• 177- Branches in rural/semi urban areas being run onSolar Energy reducing approx. 3500 Tons of CarbonDioxide Emission.
• Installed Solar Panels in several Leased & ownedPremises of the Bank. Installed capacity 293 KW inowned Buildings & 1.3 MW in Banks leased premises.
• Solar Panels of Capacity 35 Kwp installed at BanksZonal Office at Mangalore.
• Bank has set up Rain Water Harvesting system in 18Administrative Buildings.
• Waterless Urinal (276 Nos) installed in severalAdministrative Buildings saving approx. 30 lakh Liters ofwater a year.
• Tree Plantation- 43499 No. of trees/sapling planted inSchools, parks, residential societies etc. - PAN Indiaduring the period 15.11.2023 to 15.12.2023.
• Digitization of Security Reports & Returns though BanksIT Team
• Conducted Fire drills at all High-rise Buildings of theBank all over India.
• Health Checkup camps for staff members in tie-ups withvarious Medical Centers/Hospitals conducted.
• 24*7 Ambulance facility at BCC.
• Annual Sports Day organized in the month of Nov 2023involving all the staff members along with their families.
• Implementation of Self Booking Tool (SBT) for Air TicketBooking at BCC, Mumbai.
Implementation of Official Language (OL) Policy
Use of Hindi and other Indian Languages for promotingbusiness as well as providing digital products to thecustomers is a significant characteristic of the Banks OfficialLanguage policy. This approach has been well appreciatedby Government of India and regulatory authorities fromtime to time. Your Bank adopted a well-structured AnnualAction Plan for Official Language in order to achieve varioustargets set by the Government of India under its AnnualImplementation Programme 2023-24 and the assurancesgiven to the Committee of Parliament on Official Languageduring its visits to various offices/branches of the Bank.
The Meetings of Central Official Language ImplementationCommittee, presided over by MD & CEO/ Executive Directorof the Bank, were organized regularly on quarterly basis andvarious new initiatives were taken during the year FY 2023-24. Your Bank has made remarkable progress to provideMobile Banking and transactional SMS services in Hindi and11 other regional languages. Whatsapp Banking service andInternet Banking services are available to our customers inHindi too. As a new initiative during the period under review,Banks Chatbot facility, Digital lending platform, BCMS portaland BC knowledge portal have been made available in Hindialso. All the auto generated emails from various apps anddigital channels/portals of the Bank and loan sanction letterscontaining terms and conditions generated through BanksLLPS package have been made available in bilingual i.e.Hindi & English.
As a part of various initiatives taken during the year, TownOfficial Language Implementation Committee (TOLIC),Vadodara, working under the convenorship with your Bank,organized a national seminar on ‘Importance of ESG inCorporate Sector: Present and Future. Representatives ofmember offices of all TOLICs functioning under RegionalImplementation Office (West), Mumbai participated in theevent.
Bank had introduced official language rating system forBranches/ offices and ‘Bhashayi Choupal programs for staffmembers, the same were continued during the year. BanksSelf-service Passbook printing machine ‘Kiosk were enabledfor printing of Passbook in Hindi for the convenience ofcustomers. Your bank has created a ‘Shabdnaad page onthe Banks website. This page will preserve records of variousOfficial Language (OL) related activities conducted by theBank at Corporate Office and also in the entire Bank, awardsand other OL related information pertaining to the Bank.
Your Bank has published the articles received for the All IndiaSeminar on ‘Digital Loan in the form of e-book. Your Bankconducted different campaigns on quarterly basis to increaseHindi correspondence in various departments of the zones(viz. Marketing, Recovery, Security, Mortgage). Hindi Diwas,World Hindi Day and Mother Language Day were celebratedat various offices/branches all over India and abroad. Inorder to enhance the creative skills of staff members, yourBank is publishing two corporate magazines - BobMaitri(House Journal) and Akshayyam (Hindi Magazine). YourBank is continuously working to enhance the feature of ‘BOB
Abhivyakti 2.0 mobile app, designed for all serving andretired staff members to provide an interesting online readingexperience with respect to all magazines/newspapers/house journals published by the Bank including Bobmaitriand Akshayyam. It has proved to be a significant step inpromoting the Go-Green initiative in the Bank.
While providing digital banking facilities to customers,your bank is offering the facility of sending SMS in Indianlanguages in all the Financial Inclusion accounts. Yourbank is providing WhatsApp banking services in English,Hindi and Gujarati languages. Your Bank has made the HRConnect portal fully bilingual for the use of staff members.Banks Hindi website has been given an attractive look whichis contributing to significant increase in its hits. Your Bank hasprovided customers the facility to opt for SMS and WhatsAppBanking facility in their own language at the time of openingan account through tab banking. Your Bank has introducedbilingual (Hindi and English) digital journey facility foropening savings account online. Besides, keeping in mindthe highest number of calls received in Hindi language at theContact Centre, your Bank has organized a language trainingprogramme for the staff working in contact centre. Your Bankhas developed YouTube videos and PPT of various bankingproducts in Hindi language for customer awareness. Further,your Bank has ensured translation of all Banks promotionalmaterials in Hindi and other Indian languages on a regularbasis. Your Bank has ensured to post Hindi content on socialmedia handles from time to time befitting the occasion.
Your Bank conducted an internal survey from 05.12.2023 to10.12.2023 on various parameters among the staff membersof the Bank regarding the quality and utility of the Hindiversion of the internal circulars issued by the Bank to obtainfeedback on the nature of language of the circular. Your Bankalso conducted a survey regarding availability of Banksdigital channels in Indian languages to get feedback aboutthe Indian language user interface of our digital channels andget a useful data on their quality, usages etc. Based on thesuggestions received in these surveys, necessary correctiveaction is being ensured by the Bank.
A "Samarth Toolkit/Branch Samarth" (Technical Toolkit) hasbeen developed by the Bank to promote implementation ofOfficial Language in your Bank and to sensitize staff membersabout various e-tools for working in Hindi and regionallanguages. The training for staff members on this tool wascontinued during this year also. In addition, various programs/competitions were also organized in schools/collegesacross the country to connect with the young generation ofour country, which helped the Bank to strengthen its brandimage among the younger generation and mobilize/increasebusiness.
The efforts of your Bank have been appreciated by theGovernment of India from time to time. During the year,your Bank was awarded with the second prize under the"Rajbhasha Kirti Award" scheme of the Government ofIndia for its outstanding performance in the field of OfficialLanguage Implementation. In addition, the Town OfficialLanguage Implementation Committee (TOLIC), Vadodaraworking under the convenorship of the Bank was awarded with the first prize under the Narakas Rajbhasha SammanYojna. Similarly, Varanasi, Jaipur and Bareilly, TOLIC workingin convenorship of the Bank were selected for the award bythe respective Regional OL Implementation Offices of theGovernment of India. Our Zonal Offices Baroda, Chandigarhand Navsari Region were also awarded for their outstandingperformance in the field of Official Language implementationby the respective Regional OL Implementation Offices of theGovernment of India. Your Bank was conferred with a total of15 awards by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the year 2023-24 which includes Kirti/Regional and other awards. Variousoffices of the Bank received a total of 35 awards from TOLIC,working under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs. 5 staffmembers of your Bank were declared as winners of theKanthasth-2.0 competition organized by the Governmentof India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of OfficialLanguage (among the total declared winners).
Your Bank has ensured the regular meetings of the 29 TOLICsworking under the convenorship of the Bank and compliancewith the instructions laid down by the Government of Indiain this regard. Bank continued with its unique scheme"Medhavi Vidyarthi Samman Yojana" for popularising Hindi in71 Universities of the country. Under this scheme, cash prizesand commendation certificates are given to two meritoriousstudents securing first and second positions respectively inM.A. (Hindi) examinations every academic year.
Overall, your Bank is committed to fulfil its constitutionalresponsibilities regarding the use of Official Language andother Indian languages for regulatory compliance, businessdevelopment and customer convenience.
Sustainability - ESG - An environmental friendly approach
The Bank recognizes the pressing importance of addressingclimate change and acknowledges global warming as one ofthe most significant threats to businesses and communitiesworldwide. In recent times, climate change risk has emergedas a critical challenge for the financial industry. In response,the Bank is deeply comm i tted to minimizing the impactof climate change risk a nd actively working towards thesustainable development of its banking operations. Ourobjective is to achieve economic growth while ensuring thepreservation of environmental and social ecosystems.
As a responsible policy measure, the bank strictly adheres toguidelines that prohibit financing borrowers involved in theestablishment of new units producing or consuming OzoneDepleting Substances (ODS). Similarly, small and medium-scale units engaged in the manufacturing of aerosol unitsusing Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) are not eligible for Bankfinancing. These measu r es align with our commitment toreducing the greenhouse effect and contribute to a moresustainable future.
To strengthen our commitment to sustainability, the Bankhas established the CSR and Sustainability Committeeat the Board level. This committee plays a pivotal rolein implementing sustainable strategies and integratingresponsible Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG)practices throughout the organization. Furthermore, a dedicated core committee has been formed to provideoperational support to the Board level committee in fulfillingits objectives effectively.
The Bank has implemented various initiatives to reduceemissions, conserve energy, and minimize waterconsumption. A key focus area has been the reduction ofcarbon emissions. Currently, around 177 branches locatedin rural and semi-urban areas are powered by solar energy,resulting in reduced power consumption and significantreductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Through theutilization of renewable energy sources, we have successfullyeliminated approximately 4500 tons of carbon dioxideemissions. Additionally, the installation of LED lights in alldomestic branches has contributed to enhanced energyefficiency.
The Bank actively promotes sustainability awareness amongthe stakeholders and has organized initiatives such as"Swachhata Pakhwada" to foster a culture of sustainableliving, environmental preservation, and cleanliness. Theseefforts have engaged citizens in cleanliness drives atpublic parks, railway stations, and beaches, in addition toorganizing health check-up camps. The Bank aims to inspireand encourage active participation in creating a cleaner andhealthier environment.
The Bank places significant emphasis on technology-enabled banking through our platform "bobWorld". Thisenables seamless and convenient banking operations forour customers while reducing paper usage for transactionsand the need for physical visits to branches. The Bank hasimplemented a paperless approval process internally andhas digitized the document management, contributing toenhanced operational efficiency and reduced environmentalimpact.
As part of the banks commitment to environmentalconservation, the Bank initiated the "Plant a Tree Program."For every auto or home loan disbursed, the Bank planted afruit-bearing tree on behalf of its customers. The customersreceive a Green Tree Plantation certificate that contains detailsof the tree planted on their behalf. Each tree is geotagged andsecured using blockchain technology to ensure authenticity.Customers can track their planted tree online, view its exactgeolocation, and even visit the tree personally using theprovided coordinates. The Bank has planted over 1.5 lakhtrees. Through this program.
The BOB Earth is a sub-brand of our Bank that promotes,<Banking for a greener tomorrow> and emphasizessustainability. Plantation of - 43499 No. of trees/saplings inSchools, parks, residential societies etc., PAN India duringthe period 15.11.2023 to 15.12.2023, as part of the GreenCampaign under BOB Earth Initiative, we strive to make apositive impact on the environment while promoting a greenerand healthier future for all. The Bank continually strives tointegrate responsible practices, reduce its carbon footprint,and actively engage in initiatives that benefit our planet andsociety as a whole.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The Bank has a long legacy and tradition of activelycontributing to the social and economic development ofthe communities through various development activities.The Bank as a responsible corporate citizen, continuouslystrives to contribute towards social welfare & environmentalprotection, particularly for the upliftment of the underprivilegedsections of the society to make sustainable social changesin their lives. Skill development through training for gainfulemployment, human welfare and other social activities likewomen welfare, health care etc continues to remain the Bankskey focus areas. The Bank is helping different organizationsengaged in various community development and socio-economic welfare activities for the benefit of weaker sectionsand rural citizens.
The Bank has 65 Rural Self Employment Training Institutes(RSETIs) in 11 States/UTs across the country to impart skilldevelopment training to the youth of rural and semi urbanareas for generating self-employment. Since inception, thesecentres have conducted 24,263 training programmes andimparted training to 6.76 lakh youth, out of which 4.65 lakhhave already setup their own ventures or have secured wageemployment. Out of -65- RSETIs, -64- RSETIs are graded as"AA" (outstanding) by Ministry of Rural Development, GOIbased on the overall performance/functioning and -1- RSETI
i.e. RSETI Pasighat will be rated during FY 2024-25 beingnew RSETI.
The Bank has also set up 85 Financial Literacy Centres(FLCs) in 12 States/UTs which provide financial counsellingservices and education to the people in rural, semi-urban andurban areas about various financial products and servicesavailable from the formal financial sector. These centres alsotake up activities that promote financial literacy, awarenessabout banking services, digital banking, financial planningand amelioration of debt-related distress of an individual.
As per RBI directives, Bank has also set up 196 Centresfor Financial Literacy (CFLs) spread across -9- states and-1- Union Territory that are aimed at imparting financialliteracy in tribal and backward blocks through innovative andparticipatory approach.
Bank has also donated to various social causes viz., financialassistance to deserving poor students for their education,donation of medical equipment and healthcare, donationtowards smart classes, donation of water coolers and ROsystems for hospitals and donation towards relief fund incyclone affected areas.
Domestic Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures
BOBCARD Limited
BOBCARD Limited (formerly known as BOB FinancialSolutions Limited) was established in 1994 as a Non-BankingFinancial Company, wholly owned by the Bank. Its primarybusiness is in credit cards with key differentiator being simple,easy-to-understand products that are fairly priced, efficientlyserviced, and can easily be availed through a digital-allapplication process.
FY 2024 was a continued year of growth for BOBCARDconsolidating its industry position and budling seamlessintegration with parent Bank. As per RBI data for FY24, thecompany continued with steady increase in share acrosscards and spends in the credit card industry. We rank 9th interms of market share of cards with a share of 2.5% and witha spends share of 1.5%, BOB Card ranks 11th in terms ofmonthly spends.
The company issued approximately 10.9 lakh new creditcards in FY24 and continued to be among the largest issuersin terms of incremental customer acquisition. The companyfurther consolidated its two-pronged growth strategy (of BoBcustomers on one side and key partnerships on the other)by focusing on growing both portfolios i.e. proprietary cards,where the focus in FY24 has been on paid and premiumcards to diversify the composition, and co-branded cards,where the focus has been on growing the customer base.
Credit Card on UPI (CC-UPI) was launched for RuPay CreditCardholders in May 2023. More than 1282 (count) have beenspent on CC-UPI in FY24 with ever highest spends milestoneof 221 crores achieved in March 2024.
The company continued to invest in technology for enhancingcustomer experience and improving products and processes.Virtual Credit Card, new versions of the Mobile App, Launch ofVisa empower card & Rupay Business Card and automationof key processes were some of the highlights of FY24.
The company launched over 2K offer communicationsacross 50+ spend categories to its cardholders during thefestive months. These offers were across regular and EMIspends. Multiple communication channels, including socialmedia, were used to reach customers across the country.BOBCARD also launched rebranding announcement with thethematic campaign proposition ‘Remember to Reimagine.Refreshed all brand assets to adopt a new visual identity,serving as a catalyst to amplify our new brand identity anddrive awareness & consideration.
Brief Highlights of BOBCARD limited for FY 2024 (IGAAPfinancials) are indicated below:
| BOBCARD Ltd. | ||
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Total Assets | 3,520.45 | 5,217.15 |
| Net Profit/(Loss) for currentFY | 24.62 | 59.27 |
| Net NPA levels for current FY | 68.55 | 32.65 |
| Credit rating | Crisil A1 +
India ratingA1 + |
Crisil A1 +
India ratingA1 + |
| Return on Assets | 0.71% | 1.14% |
BOB Capital Markets Ltd.
BOB Capital Markets Ltd. (BOBCAPS), a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Bank of Baroda, is a SEBI registered Category-IMerchant Banker and also a Stock Broker with membershipsof National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay StockExchange (BSE).
BOBCAPS offers a wide spectrum of financial services thatincludes fund raising from primary markets /PE funds, debtsyndication, stressed asset resolution, equity valuation,mergers and acquisitions advisory and stock broking (bothinstitutional and retail). It has two operating segments, viz.Investment Banking and Broking & Distribution.
BOBCAPS continued to receive good traction for its businessesduring FY 2024. Investment banking team successfullyclosed several transactions including marquee IPOs, QIPdebt resolutions, debt syndication, DCM and M&A advisory.IB Equity successfully closed IPOs of IREDA & IRM Energywhich were over subscribed. This has led to earning of dealcredentials which is important for securing new mandates.The Company incurred a loss, largely on account of creationof technology & Account acquisition infrastructure. BothInstituitional & Retail Broking business revenue have grownsignificantly with focus on revenue. The retail client base hasdoubled during the year & the Company is revamping itsentire retail technology platform to scale up business.
Brief Highlights of BOB Capital Markets Ltd for FY 2024 areindicated below:
| BOB Capital Markets Ltd | ||
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Total Assets (in Crore) | 179.34 | 169.00 |
| Net Profit/Loss for FY (in Crore) | 1.25 | (12.50) |
| Customer base (Nos) | 1,00,929 | 2,08,768 |
| Total number of branches (Nos) | 3 | 3 |
Baroda Global Shared Services Ltd.
Baroda Global Shared Services, a wholly owned subsidiaryof the Bank of Baroda, is an outcome of a strategic decisionmade by the Bank in 2017 to integrate back-office servicesinto a single entity, thereby, reducing service replication& business unit silos, creating synergies, and improvingeconomies of scale.
BGSS locus is in creating value for the parent Bank throughreduced cost-to-income ratio, reduced credit losses, newbusiness generation & client retention.
In line with this objective of value creation for the Bank,FY2024 was a year of consolidation & growth with focuson expansion & operational excellence while emphasis oncontinuous evolution. Continuous improvement cerebrationcoupled with robust risk & governance framework is enablingBGSS to follow its growth trajectory which is evident fromBGSS topline CAGR growth of ~56% (since FY2020).
During the financial year, the organization has been involved
in implementation of several marquee transactions/projects
including:
1. Certified as Great Place to Work - (GPTW 24-25).
2. DST business had witnessed a turnaround in profitabilitywith productivity improvement & keeping COA undercontrol and resulting in an enhance value for the Bank.
3. Collections Tele-Calling- SMA 0 POS resolutionincreased to 62,000 Cr in FY2024 from 53,000 Cr inFY2023.
4. Forayed into international territories with launch of BOBUK Data Enrichment & Contact Centre operations.
5. Process re-engineering through deployment ofautomation & Lean Six Sigma methodology andenhanced productivity /efficiency of ~10% Y-o-Y(centralized operations).
6. ISO 9001:2015 Certification across 9 processescompleted meeting process quality standards.
7. ISO 27001:2013 certification & deployed SOC (SecurityOperations Centre) exhibiting BGSS commitment toinformation security.
8. Operational resilience & robust governance through ISO22301:2019 BCMS Certification.
9. Annual CSAT survey was conducted with 92.8% of theaudience appreciating BGSS performance and followingin Excellent & Very Good category.
10. Augmented learning culture and introduced an integratedLMS (Learning Management System) platform for DigitalLearning Academy.
11. Improved Gender Diversity (26%).
12. Extended support to the Bank by swiftly deploying BGSSmanpower across 108 Retail Assets RAPC centres (panIndia).
13. Extended Digital Outbound calling for assisting existingBanks customers for various digital products inter aliaCBDC, Platinum Debit Card, WhatsApp Banking.
14. Launched pilot for NR Global Helpdesk operations.
A Snapshot of the BGSS Financial Performance
| Baroda Global Shared Services Ltd. (BGSS) | ||
| Particulars | FY2023 | FY2024 |
| Audited | Audited | |
| Total Income | 254.81 | 348.74 |
| Expenses | 242.88 | 323.25 |
| PBT | 11.7 | 25.5 |
| PAT | 9.51 | 19.77 |
| PAT % | 3.73% | 5.67% |
BarodaSun Technologies Ltd.
BarodaSun Technologies Limited has been incorporated as awholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda on July 5, 2017with the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Thecompany has been formed to deliver system integration andconsultancy services on matters relating to ever evolving ITenabled business solutions, software product applicationand implementation across various lines of business, forBank of Baroda.
The Company is yet to commence full-fledged operations andit is envisioned to initiate activities like programme / projectmanagement and support services to implement enterprise-wide IT projects and development of financial productsand solutions to effectively cater to various business needsproviding technological edge across different businessverticals of the Bank.
The Nainital Bank Ltd.
The Nainital Bank Limited (NBL), originally promoted byLate Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and othersin 1922, became a subsidiary of Bank of Baroda in the year1973. The Banks holding in Nainital Bank Ltd is 98.57%.NBL has its registered office at Nainital and has operationsin five states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and NationalCapital Region (NCR), Haryana and Rajasthan. NBL has-171- branches as on March 31, 2024. The total business ofNBL increased to 13086.87 crore on March 31, 2024 from12,305.42 crore as on March 31, 2023. The Bank posted anet profit of 47.10 crore in FY 2024 against a net profit of 46.30 crore during the previous year.
Baroda BNP Paribas Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd(BBNPA AMC)
BBNPP AMC is a majority owned subsidiary of Bank ofBaroda. It is a joint venture between Bank of Baroda (50.1%shareholding) and BNP Paribas Asset Management Asia Ltd(49.9% shareholding). The Company is the Asset manager forBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Both Bank of Baroda andBNP Paribas AM had existing fund management businessesin India, which were merged in March 2022 to create this JV
BBNPP AMC builds on the strength of its sponsors. The AMCleverages the vast network and local reach of the Bank ofBaroda and global best practices and market knowledgeof BNP Paribas Asset Management. Over the years, AMChas aggressively invested in strengthening investmentcapabilities, product range, reach, and distribution. The AMCmanaged MF AAUM of 35,646 crs during Jan-Mar 2024,representing a strong growth of 45% yoy. Additionally, theAMC also offers advisory services to offshore clients withAUM of 2,257 crs as of Mar 31,2024. Driven by the strongAUM growth and cost discipline, the operations of AMCbecame profitable during the year.
Brief Highlights of Baroda BNP Paribas Asset ManagementIndia Pvt. Ltd for FY 23-24 are indicated below:
Baroda BNP Paribas Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd.
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Total Assets | 187.36 | 191.43 |
Baroda BNP Paribas Asset Management India Pvt. Ltd.
| Particulars | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
| Net Profit for current FY | (6.88) | 6.11 |
| Average Assets underManagement (AAUM) | 26,436* | 37,903* |
| Equity to overall AAUM (%) | 56% | 56% |
*Includes advisory AAUM of 1,929 crores in FY2023 and2,257 crores in FY2024.
Indian MF industry is seeing accelerated growth driven bythe rising aspiration of Indian middle class coupled withincreased awareness about Mutual funds. An encouragingtrend is that smaller towns are growing at more than doublethe pace of larger cities. India has possibly the best digitaltransaction infrastructure in the world, leading to rapid digitaladoption by clients. The AMC is leveraging all these trendsto create a strong presence in India. The AMC is committedto building a top-tier fund house that serves both -clients athome in India as well as helps foreign investors access theIndian market.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Headquartered in Mumbai, IndiaFirst Life Insurance Co. Ltd.,is a domestic subsidiary of Bank of Baroda promoted alongwith Carmel Point Investments India Private Limited, ownedby private equity funds managed by Warburg Pincus LLC.Union Bank of India is an investor in the Company. Totalshare capital of the Company is 1,433 Crores (includingshare premium)
In FY 2024, IndiaFirst Life posted Total Gross Written Premiumof 6,974 crore with YoY growth of 14.8%. The Companyimproved its rank by 1 position to 11th rank as compared tolast year on Total New Business GWP amongst private LifeInsurers. IndiaFirst Lifes assets under management (AUM) isat 27,073 Crores as on 31st March 2024. Company postedNet Profit of 112.31 crore and total Income of 10,009 crorefor FY 2024.
IndiaFirst Life was certified as a Great Place to Work (GPTW)for the sixth time in a row, a recognition considered as thegold standard for defining great workplaces across business,academia and government organisations along with beingrecognised among the ‘Top 50 of Indias Best Workplaces inBFSI by GPTW. The Company was also recognised amongBest Brands of 2023 by The Economic Times.
India Infradebt Ltd.
India lnfradebt Limited (Infradebt) is the first InfrastructureDebt Fund (IDF) NBFC to commence operations in India. Bankof Baroda and ICICI Bank are the largest shareholders, whileother shareholders include Citicorp Finance (India) Limitedand Life Insurance Corporation of India. Infradebt financesthe relatively safe, completed infrastructure projects whichhave achieved at least one year of commercial operations.Infradebt has been rated AAA/Stable outlook by CRISIL,ICRA and India Ratings since inception. Infradebt also enjoys100% income-tax exemption on all its income.
The synergy with the Bank arises from Infradebts focuson lending to strong, stable infrastructure projects - mainlyrenewable energy projects and road projects, thus promotinggreen energy in India and contributing to nation building.Infradebt business has grown steadily, with a loan book of
20,938 crores, Net Profit of 441.71 crores and Return onEquity of 14% during FY2024. Infradebt has also been payingdividends continuously for the past seven years.
A brief summary of Banks all the domestic subsidiaries andJoint Ventures is given below:
| Entity | Owned
funds |
Total assets | Net profit | Offices | Staff |
| BOBCARD Ltd. | 1070.90 | 5217.14 | 59.27 | 44 | 487 |
| BOB Capital Markets Ltd. | 148.29 | 169.63 | -12.50 | 4 | 129 |
| BarodaSun Technologies Limited | 4.74 | 4.82 | 0.155 | 1 | 0 |
| Baroda Global Shared Services Ltd | 58.85 | 148.49 | 19.78 | 2 | 4634
(3342 On roll & 1292 Third Party) |
| The Nainital Bank Ltd. | 776.85 | 9306.82 | 47.10 | 171 | 1170
( including MT & officers) |
| Baroda BNP Paribas AssetManagement India Pvt. Ltd. | 158.42 | 198.24 | 6.11 | 9 | 275 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Trustee IndiaPvt. Ltd. | 0.28 | 0.40 | 0.03 | 1 | 1 |
| IndiaFirst Life Insurance CompanyLtd. | 1,181.30 | 28,143.70 | 112.31 | 29 | 4,720 |
| India Infradebt Limited | 3206.35 | 22981.68 | 441.71 | 1 | 30 |
Awards
In recognition of Banks excellent performance in financial, digital front and other unique initiatives, the Bank was conferredwith many awards and accolades during the FY 2024 which are given below;
| Month | AWARDS RECEIVED DURING FY 2024 |
| Q1 FY 24 | • Ms. Swapna Bandopadhaya, General Manager, presented with Advantage Clubs Exceptional WomenAward in Human Resources. |
| • Bank of Baroda receives the Best Contact Centre of the Year award 2023 at the Digital Customer ExperienceConfex & Awards 2023 organised by Gain Skills Business Media Pvt Ltd. | |
| • Bank of Baroda received two awards at the Express Computer - BFSI Technology Awards 2023 in theEnterprise Mobility and Analytics/Big Data categories. | |
| • Bank of Baroda won the Best Retail Financier award amongst PSU Banks at the Annual Financiers Awards2022 organised by JCB India. | |
| • Bank of Baroda was felicitated at the ET Best BFSI Brands 2023 for its leadership in the Banking sector. | |
| • Bank of Baroda received two awards at the 7th edition of Adgullys-DIGIXX 2023 awards. | |
| o Gold - in the Search/Display Marketing category for Baroda Car Loan | |
| o Silver - In the Best use of Social Media (BFSI) category - #SaluteHerShakti campaign. | |
| • Bank of Baroda received three awards at the ACEF Global Customer Engagement Forum & Awards: | |
| o Best Event Promotion for Sun Run 2.0 (Silver Award) | |
| o Best Use of Celebrity Endorsement for Sun Run 2.0 (Bronze Award) | |
| o Best Innovative Radio Campaign (Silver Award) for 115 hours of non-stop RJ Marathon on the occasionof the Banks 115th Foundation Day. | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Gold at the 7th Annual Drivers of Digital awards organised by Inkspell Media in thecategory "Best Use of Animation or Graphics" for its # dilsedigital campaign. | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Bronze at the 7th Annual Drivers of Digital awards organised by Inkspell Media inthe category "Best Use of Video Marketing on Social Platform" for its #PehchaanCon campaign. | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Gold in the Radio-Innovation category for Best Use of Sponsorship in an On-Air/On-Ground Radio Campaign for LALBAUGH LIVE at the Golden Mikes Awards 2023. | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Silver in the Radio-Creativity category for Best Single Commercial-Insurance,Banking & Financial Services for the 115 Hours of RJ Marathon campaign at the Golden Mikes Awards2023. | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Bronze in the Radio-Promotion category for Best on Ground Promotion for/by aBrand-Single Radio Station for the Foundation Day at the Golden Mikes Awards 2023. | |
| • Bank of Baroda Wins the Best Customer Service Initiative of the Year (Banking) Award by Quantic India. | |
| • Bank of Baroda has bagged the Atal Pension Yojana Annual for FY 2022-23 by Pension Fund Regulatory &Development Authority (PFRDA) | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins two awards at The Great Indian BFSI Awards - 1) The Great Indian InternalCommunication Campaign of the Year for #IAmSocial and 2) The Great Indian BFSI Lead GenerationCampaign of the Year for BOB Home Loan | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins CXO TVs Cloud Innovation Awards 2023 in the Smart Digital Category | |
| • Bank of Baroda has been awarded with the "Great Place to Work" Certification 2023 for the 2nd year in arow by Great Place to Work Institute. Bank has also been awarded with "Indias Best Employers AmongNation Builder 2023" and "Indias Best Employers in Public Sector Undertaking 2023" | |
| • Shri Akhil Handa, Chief Digital Officer, Bank of Baroda received the AI100 Award 2023 India, recognizinghim as one of Indias top 100 influential AI leaders by MachineCon India 2023. | |
| • Bank of Baroda awarded third place in the State Level Best Banker award for the year 2022-23 for itscontribution to the MSME sector, organised by Industries and Commerce Department of Tamil NaduGovernment. | |
| Month | AWARDS RECEIVED DURING FY 2024 |
| Q2 FY 24 | • Bank of Baroda wins following awards at the Emerging Asia Banking Awards, organised by IndianChamber of Commerce |
| o The Best Bank - India award in the Large Public Sector Bank category | |
| o The Best Performance on CASA-India in the Large Public Sector Bank category | |
| o First runner-up in The Best Performance on Profitability-India in the Large Public Sector Bank category | |
| o First Runner-up in The Best Performance on Risk Management-India in the Large Public Sector Bankcategory | |
| o First Runner-up in The Best Performance on Asset Quality-India in the Large Public Sector Bankcategory. | |
| o Second Runner-up in The Best Performance on Growth-India in the Large Public Sector Bank category. | |
| • Bank of Baroda bags Maverick award by Exchange4media for Best Marketing Campaign for a BFSIBrand for Digital Car Loan | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Gold in the mCube Awards organised by Inkspell Media for its campaign#SaluteHerShakti under the category of Best ATL Campaign for a Financial Enterprise | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Gold in the mCube Awards organised by Inkspell Media for bob World under thecategory of Best Display Marketing in Digital | |
| • Bank of Baroda wins Gold in the mCube Awards organised by Inkspell Media for its campaign#SmashItWithSindhu under the category of Best Innovation/Creativity in a Social Media Campaign | |
| • Bank of Baroda has been honoured with two awards, Best CX Strategy of the Year 2022-23 and BestOrganisation in Customer Satisfaction at the Digital Customer Experience Confex & Awards 2023organised by Gain Skills Business Media Pvt Ltd. | |
| • 7.Bank of Baroda has bagged the Best Digital Bank award at the 8th Edition of the TechMeet &Technology Excellence Awards organised by ASSOCHAM. | |
| • Shri Ian De Souza, Chief Financial Officer, Bank of Baroda has won Dalal Street Investment Journals(DSIJ) 2023 CFO Award in Large Cap Category. | |
| • 9.Bank of Baroda wins Employee Happiness Awards 2023 organised by Kamikaze B2B Media in the BestCommunity Impact Initiative category. | |
| • 10.Bank of Baroda is felicitated with Network 18, Second Edition of Green Ribbon Champion forcontribution to Green Bank of the year. | |
| • 11 .Bank of Baroda bags the Government of Indias prestigious Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar. Bank is awardedwith the second prize under the ‘Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar Scheme of the Government of India for theyear 2022-23 in the Nationalized Banks category. | |
| Q3 FY 24 | • Bank of Baroda wins The Financial Express Indias Best Banks Awards 2021-22 for ‘Savings Product. |
| • Bank of Baroda has been honoured with prestigious award by CafeMutual, recognising the Bank asleading Mutual Fund Distributor (across peer Banks) basis Equity Net Sales performance in FY 2022-23. | |
| • Bank of Baroda won the Governance Now BFSI Awards 2023 under the category "Digital Bank". | |
| • Bank of Baroda won the Silver metal for paid digital campaign for Baroda Car Loan at Pitch BFSIMarketing Awards 2023. | |
| • Bank of Baroda felicitated under the Most Engaging Content category for the social media marketingcampaign for bob World in India Content Leadership Awards 2023 by INKSPELL. | |
| • Bank of Baroda felicitated with the prestigious "National Award for Outstanding Performance in the SHG(Self Help Group) Bank Linkage Programme" for 2022-23 by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna - National RuralLivelihoods Mission, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. | |
| • Bank of Baroda received the "Progressive Places to Work 2023" award by ET Edge (The Times Group) | |
| • Bank of Baroda won the 7th IDC Future Enterprise Awards under the category "Best in Future of CustomerExperience" for its Digital Lending Platform. | |
| Month | AWARDS RECEIVED DURING FY 2024 |
| Q4 FY 24 | • Bank of Baroda bags Best Savings Bank Award at Navabharat BFSI Summit & Awards 2023 |
| • Bank of Baroda was named "Best Bank" in the Large Public Sector Banks category by the State Forum ofBankers Clubs Kerala (SFBCK) based on the Banks performance in the financial year 2022-23. | |
| • Bank of Baroda was named ‘Indias Leading Public Bank (Large) at the 16th Dun & Bradstreet BFSI &Fintech Summit 2024 for its outstanding performance for the period 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023 | |
| • Bank of Baroda was recognised as the Winner (Public Sector) at the IBEX India 2024 BFSI TechnologyAwards under the category "Excellence in Financial Inclusion". | |
| • Bank of Baroda has been recognised as the winner of the Elets BFSI CXO Award in the category "Excellencein Innovation & Customer Engagement initiative". | |
| • Bank of Baroda was named the winner for "Best AI & ML Bank" and "Best Technology Talent" amongLarge Banks at the Indian Banks Associations (IBA) 19th Annual Banking Technology Awards 2023. TheBank also received a Special Mention in four award categories - Best Technology Bank, Best IT RiskManagement, Best Fintech & DPI Adoption and Best Financial Inclusion. | |
| • Bank of Baroda has been honoured with ‘Best Central Public Sector Bank of India - Banking & FinanceAward at the 5th IPSE (India Public Sector Enterprises) Awards. | |
| • Bank of Baroda was awarded the Best Use of Experiential Marketing and Best Performance MarketingCampaign of the Year award at the ASSOCHAM Branding & Marketing Summit cum Excellence Awards. | |
| • Bank of Baroda has been recognised as ET NOW Best BFSI Brands for 2024 at the 7th edition of The ETNow Best BFSI Brands Conclave. | |
| • Bank of Baroda emerges victorious at the ET BRANDEQUITYcoms ET Trendies Award for Cause-basedMarketing for the Banks # PehchaanCon Influencer Campaign |
Dividend Distribution Policy
Board of Directors of the bank has recommended a dividendof 7.60 per share for the financial year ended March 31,2024.The total outgo in the form of dividend will be 3,930.24 crore.The payment of dividend is subject to requisite approvals.The dividend distribution policy is given in this Annual Reportand is also available on the Banks website.
Board of Directors (Appointment / Cessation of Directorsduring the year)
Appointments
Shri Debadatta Chand was appointed as Managing Directorand Chief Executive Officer w.e.f. 1st July, 2023 by theCentral Government u/s 9(3)(a) of The Banking CompaniesAcquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, for aperiod of three years, or until further orders, whichever isearlier.
Smt. Nina Nagpal was elected as Shareholder Director u/s9(3) (i) of The Banking Companies Acquisition and Transfer ofUndertakings) Act, 1970, for a period of three years from 24thDecember, 2023 to 23rd December, 2026.
Shri Sanjay Vinayak Mudaliar was appointed as ExecutiveDirector, with effect from 31st January, 2024 by the CentralGovernment u/s 9(3) (a) of The Banking CompaniesAcquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, for theremainder period of term i.e. upto 31st December, 2025, oruntil further orders, whichever is earlier.
Cessations
Shri Sanjiv Chadha ceased as Managing Director & Chief
Executive Officer w.e.f. 30th June, 2023 upon attaining the ageof superannuation.
Smt. Soundara Kumar ceased to be a Shareholders Directorw.e.f. 24th December, 2023 on completion of her term ofdirectorship
Shri Joydeep Dutta Roy ceased to be Executive Directorof the Bank w.e.f. 31st January, 2024, upon his taking overcharge as Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank.
Shri Srinivasan Sridhar ceased to be a Shareholders Directorw.e.f. 21st February, 2024 upon his resignation consequentto his appointment as Non-Official Director / Non-ExecutiveChairman of Indian Overseas Bank.
Dr. Hasmukh Adhia ceased to be Part-Time Non-OfficialDirector as well as Non-Executive Chairman of the Bank w.e.f.1st March, 2024, on completion of his term of appointment on29th February, 2024.
Board Evaluation
Bank is following Government of India guidelines datedAugust 30, 2018 for PSB Governance Reforms - Enhancinggovernance through improved effectiveness of non-officialdirectors.
Auditors Compliance Certificate on CorporateGovernance:
The Auditors Compliance Certificate regarding thecompliance of the conditions of Corporate Governance forthe year 2023-24 is annexed with this report pursuant to"Part E" of Schedule V of the SEBI (Listing Obligations andDisclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)
Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR)Report as required by SEBI has been hosted on the website ofthe bank (www.bankofbaroda. co.in). Any member interestedin obtaining a physical copy of the same may write to theCompany Secretary of the bank.
Directors Responsibility Statement
The Directors confirm that in the preparation of the annualaccounts for the Financial Year ended March 31,2024.
a) The applicable accounting standards had been followedalong with proper explanation relating to materialdepartures, if any;
b) The accounting policies framed in accordance with theguidelines of RBI were followed and the directors hadselected such accounting policies and applied themconsistently and made judgments and estimates thatare reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fairview of the state of affairs of the Bank at the end of thefinancial year and of the profit and loss of the bank forthat period;
c) The Directors had taken proper and sufficient care forthe maintenance of adequate accounting records inaccordance with the provisions of applicable laws to theBank for safeguarding the assets of the Bank and forpreventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
d) The Directors had prepared the annual accounts on agoing concern basis; and
e) The Directors had ensured that internal financial controlsfollowed by the Bank are in accordance with guidelinesissued by the RBI in this regard and that such internalfinancial controls are adequate and were operatingeffectively. Explanation: For the purposes of this clause,the term "internal financial controls" means the policiesand procedures adopted by the Bank for ensuring theorderly and efficient conduct of its business, includingadherence to Banks policies, the safeguarding of its assets, the prevention and detection of frauds anderrors, the accuracy and completeness of the accountingrecords, and the timely preparation of reliable financialinformation;
f) The Directors had devised proper systems to ensurecompliance with the provisions of all applicable lawsand that such systems were adequate and operatingeffectively.
Acknowledgements
The Directors placed on record their appreciation for thecontribution made by Dr. Hasmukh Adhia outgoing Non-Executive Chairman, Shri Sanjiv Chadha outgoing ManagingDirector & Chief Executive Officer, Shri Joydeep Dutta Royoutgoing Executive Director and Smt. Soundara Kumar andShri Srinivasan Sridhar outgoing Shareholder Directors.
The Directors express their sincere thanks to the Governmentof India, RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India, otherregulatory authorities and the overseas regulators for theircontinued co-operation, guidance and support.
The Directors would like to take this opportunity to expresssincere thanks to our valued clients for their continuedpatronage and support.
The Directors acknowledge with deep appreciation forthe cooperation extended by all shareholders, Banks andFinancial Institutions, Rating Agencies, Stock Exchanges andall well-wishers in India and Abroad. The Directors also takethis opportunity to place on record deep appreciation for thehard work and dedication of the employees of the Bank.
| Debadatta Chand |
| Managing Director & CEO |
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