Bucking the industry trend, Dena Bank has managed to increase its net advances during the nine-month period ended December 31, 1998, by 25.6 per cent to Rs 6,237.03 crore (Rs 4,966.28 crore). The growth in advances has helped the bank increase its interest income by 20.6 per cent to Rs 1,089 crore from Rs 903 crore in the year-ago period.

The bank's total income increased from Rs 1,019 crore as on December 31, 1997, to Rs 1,191 crore, reflecting a growth of 16.8 per cent. Dena Bank's other income, excluding profit on sale of investments, has increased by 8.3 per cent to Rs 91 crore (Rs 84 crore).

On the expenses side, the bank's total expenses increased by 26.6 per cent from Rs 820 crore to Rs 1,037 crore. Operating expenses during this period have risen by 6.8per cent. Dena Bank has made full provisions for non-performing assets on an estimated basis.

The total deposits during the nine-month period ended December 31, 1998, stood at Rs 11,708 crore showing a growth of 33 per cent over the year-ago period's corresponding figure of Rs 8,864.17 crore. Dena Bank's market share in total deposits during the first nine months of 1998-99 has improved to 1.73 per cent against 1.57 per cent in March, 1998.

The bank is taking a series of measures to ensure that the quality of lending is not compromised. All proposals of Rs 10 lakh and above are thoroughly scrutinised by a risk-exposure committee before they are considered by the sanctioning authority. The 33 per cent growth in advances has helped the bank improve its share in advances to 1.81 per cent from 1.68 per cent in March, 1998.

Dena Bank's investments have registered an increase of 31.6 per cent to reach Rs 5,725 crore in December, 1998. Investments in the year-ago period amounted to Rs 4,350.03 crore. Againstthe RBI stipulation of marking to market 70 per cent of the bank's securities, Dena Bank has marked 96.81 per cent of its securities portfolio to market.

The priority sector advances of the bank during the nine-month period ended December 31, 1998, increased by 22.4 per cent and its total share of credit amounted to 43.5 per cent against 42.3 per cent in March, 1998. The business mix per employee has increased from Rs 1.01 crore in March, 1998, to Rs 1.28 crore in December, 1998. The business per branch has also increased from Rs 13.2 crore to Rs 15.9 crore.