New Delhi, Feb 22: Centurion Bank plans to foray into a slew of new segments including auto loans, credit cards, wealth management and housing loans that will enable it to come into the orbit of top three in the retail segment. ''A strategic plan is being drawn up in this regard. Our plans are ambitious,'' newly-appointed Centurion managing director Shailendra Bhandari said. The bank will also come out with a rights issue soon but the quantum and timing has not yet been decided, Bhandari said. Apart from substantial expansion of its branches to new regions, centurion aims to double the size of its balance sheet by March 2005. The deposits of the bank at present are in the realm of Rs 3,000 crore and advances Rs 1,600 crore. Thus the present size of its balance sheet is Rs 4,600 crore. ''We will go to regions where there are economies of scale and there is high potential of growth of our business,'' Bhandari said. Centurian has obtained licences from the Reserve Bank of India for opening branches at Guwahati and Amritsar. Currently the bank has 100 points of sale, including 60 branches, spread all over the country. It will also increase its ATM network. The bank's branches are concentrated in the south, Punjab and Goa. ''Centurion will be a full servicing bank in both retail and corporate lending,'' Bhandari said. ''Our retail segment is growing at the rate of 30 per cent per annum. We will come up with good products at reasonable prices. We want to increase our market share of retail banking and be among the top three or four banks in this field,'' he said. The focus of the bank's lending at present is two wheelers, commercial vehicles, construction and personal loans. ''Notwithstanding our expansion plans, the bank's strength will continue to be in these areas,'' Bhandari, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni, said. Keeping these changes in view, centurion bank will overhaul its organisation by identifying and addressing its talent gaps. Bureau Report