Chandigarh, (Gurpreet) Bank of India (BOI), a premier public sector bank has entered into a co-lending arrangement for MSME loan with an Ahmedabad based NBFC “M/s. MAS Financial Services Ltd” (MAS). BOI on the occasion of its 116th Foundation Day announced strategic co-lending arrangement with MAS.
Mr. Atanu Kumar Das, Managing Director & CEO mentioned in the announcement that co-lending is introduced by RBI to increase the credit flow to the unserved and the underserved sector by utilizing the nimble footed NBFC coverage to informal sector. BOI will leverage reach of NBFC to build MSME portfolio.
Bank of India today celebrated its 116th Foundation Day across all its 10 national banking group (NBG) offices, 59 zonal offices, 5,084 domestic and 23 overseas branches, and 5,323 ATMs, a testimony to its preeminent position in the Indian banking industry.
Bank of India was established on September 7, 1906, by a group of eminent businessmen and subsequently nationalised in July 1969 along with 13 other banks. In the past 100-plus years, the Bank has been in the forefront of introducing innovative systems, products and services, including digital tools and platforms that has taken convenience banking to a new level.
On the completion of the milestone, Bank of India Managing Director and CEO Atanu Kumar Das expressed his gratitude to all the customers, stakeholders and well-wishers for reposing their trust in the Bank and supporting it at every step of the journey.
The Bank marked the special occasion by celebrating ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and made a pledge to continue serving the nation and its citizens. As part of the celebrations, the Bank launched a short film Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav that mapped the Bank’s glorious journey in the last 116 years and its contribution to nation building.
Bank of India undertook several initiatives, such as tree plantation, extending financial help to 8,718 girl children towards their education and customer outreach programmes. The Bank also carried out other CSR activities that included providing smart sticks to members of associations for the visually impaired, and financial assistance to the poor and needy for availing free medical checkups at KEM Hospital in Mumbai. The Bank paid special homage to those among its staff who lost their lives to Covid-19. It also felicitated newly-recruited sports staff for their valuable contribution in the field of sports.
In addition, the Bank unveiled various new schemes for farmers. These included opening of 84 Star Krishi Vikas Kendra for quick processing of Kisan Loans; Krishi Ghar Special Scheme for construction of farm houses; a unique scheme, Star Kisan Sahayata Loan, to mitigate Covid-19 stress; and a scheme for farm mechanisation. Bank of India assisted borrowers affected by Covid-19 with GECL disbursements of Rs 5,587 crore and launched Star Kavach Personal Loan to help existing customers meet medical expenses for treatment of Covid-19.
On the technology front, Bank of India launched Digi Locker, Business WhatsApp and Web Module on its website for credit card customers. For entrepreneurs, the Bank launched RuPay Select International Contactless Debit Card, an integrated UPI through BOI mobile app for better customer experience, UPI QR Code for both merchants and customers, and document management system (DMS) with enhanced security, better backup and disaster recovery features.
Bank of India also encouraged skill development for sustainable livelihood to rural youth through its best graded 43 RSETI, which imparted free training to rural unemployed youth to create employment opportunities through credit linkages. On Foundation Day, the Bank is inaugurating new premises of RSETI at Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh. The Bank also supported multiple street vendors under ‘PM SVANIDHI’ by providing finance and occupied 4th position amongst the top 10 lenders. Bank of India also became the first bank to achieve the target under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
In the past one year, Bank of India won many accolades, including best performing MD and CEO and Executive Director as well as the APY Annual Award for the Best Performing Bank 2020-21 from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The Bank also won the BFSI Excellence Awards 2021 and the Best Cyber Security Initiative in Banking category. In addition, the Bank won Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Award in the category ‘Product Innovation’ for QRCash 2020. Bank of India also received the ‘HR Leadership Award 2021’ from the World HRD Congress and Skoch Award 2021 - Silver for Excellence in Technology under the ‘Document Management System’ category.