Mumbai, July 10: Indusind Bank is considering acquisition of a non-banking finance company (NBFC) as part of its growth strategy even as it has targeted a 50% rise in operating profit for fiscal ‘03-04. “We are keen on acquisition and are talking to two NBFCs but none of them is a housing finance company,” IndusInd Bank managing director Bhaskar Ghose told newspersons here today after launching “Powercard”, an international debit-cum-ATM card in association with Visa.

He said they were involved in two-wheeler, truck finance and leasing business, however, the discussions were in early stages. The bank would like to acquire an NBFC with a good portfolio, wide reach across the country and limited number of employees, he said adding, to the extend possible, the bank would opt for a share swap route for acquisition.
IndusInd Bank executive vice-president JK Basu said that the bank had acquired retail and corporate portfolios aggregating Rs 120-150 crore and Rs 500-600 crore in last year.
In current fiscal, the bank has not fixed a target “but will certainly be aggressive as in the past.” Referring to the operating profit, he said the bank was targeting a 50% rise in FY04 over Rs 308 crore recorded in last year. On the retail front, he said the deposits and advances stood at Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 450 crore respectively. Bureau Report