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Atul Kumar Goel, managing director of Punjab National Bank (PNB), announced plans to open a representative office in Dubai as part of the bank's strategy to expand its global presence. He stated that the board of directors has granted approval for this initiative, and the process of seeking regulatory clearance is underway. Goel expressed optimism that the representative office would be established during the current financial year, provided all necessary regulatory approvals are obtained. As of March 31, 2024, PNB had a presence in six countries through two subsidiaries (in London, the UK, and Bhutan), one joint venture (in Nepal), and two representative offices (in Myanmar and Bangladesh). Discussing strategies to enhance profitability, Goel emphasised expanding the retail, agriculture, and MSME (RAM) portfolios, extending corporate loans, controlling slippages, and improving recovery. Additionally, Goel highlighted the importance of boosting forex income and increasing fee income from third-party product sales to enhance non-interest income. To improve interest income, the focus would be on increasing the proportion of low-cost deposits, particularly Current Account Savings Account (CASA) deposits. Goel mentioned that CASA accounted for 41.4% of total deposits as of March 2024, with a target to surpass 42% by the end of the current fiscal year. The bank aims to maintain credit costs below 1% during the financial year. With these initiatives, Goel projected that the return on assets (ROA) would rise to 0.8% during the year and reach 1% by the end of March 2025, leading to a significant increase in profit. When asked about expected business growth for the current financial year, Goel anticipated credit growth of 11?12% and deposit growth of 9?10%. To finance this business expansion, the bank has obtained approval to raise capital amounting to Rs 175 billion from Tier I and Tier II bonds and through the private placement of shares during the year.