Federal Bank aims to have an equal proportion of wholesale and retail advances over the next two years.

As on March 31, 2019, total advances of the Kochi-based private sector bank was Rs 1,11,829 crore with wholesale advances comprising corporate credit at 53 per cent and retail advances at 47 per cent. Wholesale business includes advances above Rs 5 crore.

“We want to get to a 50:50 ratio between wholesale and retail and equally weigh our books. This is expected over the next couple of years,” said Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO of Federal Bank.

He added that growth in retail loans is expected to be higher because of better lending opportunities, smaller base and improved income stream.

The bank is also targeting a growth of 20 per cent in 2019-20. “All our businesses are positioned for 20-per-cent plus growth,” Srinivasan said on Wednesday while inaugurating the bank’s zonal office in Calcutta.

He said the lender had comfortable capital adequacy ratio at more than 14 per cent and a good credit quality. “These two aspects are the core strength of Federal Bank, which would help it gain market share and grow faster,” he said.

The present market share stood at a trifle over one per cent, he said.

Srinivasan said the quality of its assets was at the lower end in the sector, with gross NPAs and net NPAs at 2.92 per cent and 1.48 per cent, respectively.

“Most of our assets are AAA and AA rated, and we are quite cautious. We stay away from relatively risky assets,” he said.

On capital raising, Srinivasan said there was no immediate requirement for the coming quarters. “However, since the business is dynamic, we will evaluate it later,” he said.

Talking about branch expansion, he said, “We are now exploring the opportunities of opening new branches in select geographies. We plan to open 40 branches each year.”