Karur Vysya Bank which was established 82 years ago, has been a consistent performer especially in the areas of profitability, staff productivity and dividend pay-outs. Its main problem is with regard to raising NPAs. Net NPA percentage at 6.33 is very high. While many banks are able to curtail rising NPAs, Karur Vysya Bank has been showing deterioration in percentage. However, the overall consistent performance has placed the bank in the top five league among old private banks for quite some years now. This mid-sized bank proves that size does not really matter in the Indian context.

Does size matter for a bank? This question has been debated quite extensively but still requires a conclusive result. Banks in India do not seem to be unduly affected by the size considerations. There are certain medium-sized banks which show commendable performance. Karur Vysya Bank is one such example. To quote from Dr. C Rangarajan's inaugural address at a bank function very recently, "this bank can be regarded as a fine example of how a medium-size bank can effectively play its part in promoting regional development and in attending to the needs of small and medium entrepreneurs."

Established 82 years ago, as a private bank, at Karur in Tamil Nadu, this bank has been growing rapidly for quite some time. Its branch network is compact at 211 for a medium-sized bank. Its deposits have nearly doubled during the last four years, whereas, advances for the same period have grown by 115%. Its net profit has been steadily growing and in fact crossed the Rs. 100 cr mark last fiscal to stand at Rs. 108.51 cr. Its own funds which were a mere Rs. 21 cr nine years ago has steeply risen to Rs. 430 cr by fiscal 2002. To further augment capital base, this bank has decided to issue bonus cum rights shares with a premium of Rs. 50. Both issues will be simultaneous in the ratio of 1:1. Its dividend history is very impressive with percentages ranging from 50-70% during the last six years, easily one of the highest pay-outs for banks.

Karur Vysya Bank: A Consistent Performers, private, branches, consistent, fiscal, network, profitability, credit, criteria, curtail, development, entrepreneurs, ethics, information, premium, profit, rapidly, ratios, recruits, shares, strides.