Oriental Bank Looks To Increase Rural Market Share

New Delhi: The Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) is planning to increase the share of its business in rural areas to about 30 per cent from the current level of about 18 per cent. The bank''s total business as on March 31, 2008 is pegged at about Rs 1,30,000 crore. On Global Trust Bank (GTB), the source said that OBC may look at starting the next financial year with a clean slate. With the bank expected to make record profits this financial year, OBC''s senior management likely to entirely write-off the remaining GTB losses in the accounts for financial year 2007-08 itself, rather than wait for another year and make quarterly provisions (about Rs 65 crore every quarter) in 2008-09.