Central Bank of India was founded and established by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala in the year 1911. The bank has a rich history of 112 years, whereby it has transformed every threat into a business opportunity. In 1921, it launched the Home Savings Safe Deposit Scheme to build saving/thrift habits in all sections of society. After the nationalisation of the bank in the year 1969, it continued its business growth with the launch of innovative banking services. The bank established a merchant banking cell in 1976. In 1989, it started the housing subsidiary Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd., headquartered at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. Central Bank of India was listed on BSE and NSE in 2007 after a successful IPO. As of March 2023, the bank recorded 4,493 branches and 3,752 ATMs in services and advances of ₹2,17,779 crore. Central Bank of India won the first prize for outstanding implementation of the Official Language Policy of the Government of India in the Mumbai Metro area for 2015- 2016.

Central Bank of India Business Segments

• Digital Banking: The bank provides digital banking services such as Internet Banking, mobile banking, BHIM Cent UPI, m-passbook, Cent M-Passbook, etc.
• Deposits: The bank provides deposit services like any other banking business does. The products and services under the segment include savings bank accounts, current accounts, recurring deposit accounts, etc.
• Retail Loan: The bank lends money to the retail customers under this business space with the help of loan products such as housing loans, vehicle loans, education loans, personal/gold loans, etc.
• Agriculture: The bank provides products and services such as Kisan Credit Cards and Agri Gold Loan Scheme to agricultural customers through this business.
• MSME: The bank provides MSME loans to micro, small and medium enterprises customers under this business space. Other services under this business primarily include business gold loans and a cent-vehicle business.
• Corporate: The bank deals with corporate customers and provides loans as the only product and services under this segment.
• Treasury: The treasury segment includes dealing in government and other securities, money market, and forex operations.

The bank has the following subsidiaries:

• Centbank Financial Services Limited: It is a wholly-owned subsidiary which primarily offers trusteeship services, including Debenture/Security Trusteeship, Executor and trusteeship, and managing private/charitable trusts.
• Cent Bank Home Finance Limited: Central Bank of India holds a 64.40% stake in the company as of March 31, 2023. The company primarily provides home finance services and has grown its Assets Under Management (AUM) to ₹1,415.50 crore as of March 31, 2023.

Corporate Action

There are no records of corporate action.

Central Bank of India Management Outlook

• Looking forward, the bank is focused on technological transformation to leverage its customer base and drive future growth. The bank believes that the ongoing efforts in technology enhancement are likely to yield results in the future.
• The bank is maintaining a strong focus on asset quality, aiming for credit costs below 1%. The bank plans to mitigate risks and ensure a balanced credit portfolio, focusing on the importance of maintaining strong corporate and MSME books.

Central Bank of India SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Diversified revenue streams.
• Improving non-performing assets (NPAs).

Weaknesses

• Negative free cash flows.
• Major loan book owed to corporate customers.

Opportunities

• Growing digitalisation.
• Increase household income.

Threats

• Interest rate risk.
• Growing small loan providers.