"The bank's NPA is likely to post a slight increase for the year 1998-99 for which accounts are being finalised,'' Dena Bank chairman and managing director Ramesh Mishra said recently. The Mumbai-based bank might be able to show a small increase in the net profit, Mishra said.

The bank has sizeable exposure in the industry segments hit by the recessionary conditions. These include cement, steel and textile. Mishra said Dena Bank was not considering any plan to finance the information technology industry. He said his bank did not have enough expertise to evaluate the IT Projects. At a recent customers' meet here, Mishra said the Reserve Bank of India was insisting greater transparency in accounting standards. He wanted the customers also to have transparency in their accounting norms.

While Mishradisclosed that the Dena Bank was implementing a $ 17-million computerisation project, his customers reminded him that branches lacked even basic communication facilities like fax machines. The customers also complained about delay in finalising the projections pending finalisation of balance-sheets.