uco bank

uco bankThe battle for garnering a higher current account savings account, or the so-called ‘Casa’ deposits, intensified with one more bank offering services to customers sans charges. IDBI Bank was the first to do this last September. On Monday, Uco Bank joined ranks by launching ‘Total Freedom’.Under this, clients opening a savings account or a current account with Uco will not be charged for services such as cheque books, automated teller machine withdrawals, fund transfers through real time gross settlement and National Electronic Fund



Transfer etc.But to avail of this facility, a savings account holder should maintain a monthly average balance of at least Rs2,500 and a current account holder Rs10,000.Anything less, and the customer will be charged for services. Uco’s existing customers also have the option to shift to ‘Total Freedom’.The offer is up to December 31, 2011. “We will decide later whether to extend the scheme,” a Uco official said.As on March 31, Uco’s Casa stood at 21.8%. That’s less than half of what HDFC Bank and State Bank of India had, at 52.69% and 45.33%, respectively.So it’s not surprising Uco and IDBI are pulling out all stops. For banks, the more they have cheaper deposits or Casa, the better would be their financials.IDBI Bank went a step ahead of Uco: its customers do not have to maintain even a minimum balance or average balance. That’s understandable because its Casa stood even lower than Uco’s at 20.88%.But an analyst with a domestic brokerage, who did not wish to be named, said such moves do not help banks improve their Casa.
Some banks prefer selective sops to blanket waivers.BA Prabhakar, executive director, Bank of India, said, “We are not planning to give a blanket waiver to all customers. We may look at waiving off charges for certain customers depending on the bank’s relationship with them. We are not convinced by the theory that removing charges will boost Casa.”The bank’s Casa stood at 24.47%.Experts say banks are moving faster also because a savings bank deposit rate deregulation may be closer than ever bef

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