KOCHI: Lord Krishna Bank Ltd. (LKB) has taken several initiatives to extend banking services to a larger section of society and render better customer service, deputy managing director of the bank V.K. Gupta has said.

Talking to reporters here, he said the introduction of the `no-frills' account and increase in the rate of interest for term deposits are part of the initiative. The bank plans to soon launch an IPO to increase the capital and net worth.

Mr. Gupta said that despite declining interest, the net interest income as percentage to average working funds has increased from 1.71 per cent on March 31, 2004 to 2.40 per cent on March 31, 2005. The bank has a net worth of Rs.160.12 crores.

LKB has announced increase in the rate of interest of term deposits to 7.75 per cent for a year to below 3-year period with effect from January 9 this year, irrespective of the amount of deposit. The bank also offers 0.50 per cent extra interest to senior citizens whereby they can earn up to 8.25 per cent for their fresh deposits for the same maturity period.

The bank has introduced `no-frills' savings bank account in compliance with RBI directive. The account can be opened with Rs.50 with no stipulation for minimum balance. Customers can do any number of cash transactions.

As many as 10 cheque transactions a month are allowed in the account. Individuals who are unable to open accounts in banks hitherto for want of large minimum balance and owing to insistence on adherence to other formalities will be benefited by the new scheme.

Mr. Gupta said the bank was in a growth orbit. He said it had embraced technology as the main enabler for efficient operations and business development.

The bank has tied up with insurance companies for cross selling of life and non-life insurance products. It has also introduced Visa international debit card, which allows account holders access Visa delivery channels in India and overseas.

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