TRIVANDRUM, 8 August  — IDBI, one of the new generation banks that commenced operations in the southern state of Kerala almost two years ago, is to open two more branches in the state.

The bank, which already has three branches in the state, would soon open branches in Cochin and Calicut.

J. Venkataraman, vice president of the bank’s southern division, said that apart from opening of two more branches, there are plans to launch Internet banking facilities in three months.

“The two new branches are expected to commence functioning shortly and we have already started conducting a survey for it,” Venkataraman said.

Kerala accounts for 10 percent of IDBI’s almost 30 percent share of the banking business in south India. Its branches in Thiruvalla and Kottayam controls almost 85 percent of the local non-resident Indian (NRI) business.

Venkataraman said the bank is on a sound footing.  “In the last one year itself the number of retail accounts jumped almost 100 percent from 161,000 to 300,000 account holders in 57 branches in the country and our profits in the first quarter of this year stand at 182.2 million rupees as against 119 million rupees in the first quarter of the previous year,” he said.

The IDBI is also in the preparatory stages of launching new facilities for its large NRI clientele.

Right now IDBI customers having accounts with any of the banks that are members of the Society for World Wide Funds Transfer (SWIFT) connectivity in any part of the world could instantly transfer money into their IDBI accounts.

The bank is soon entering into tie ups with leading financial money exchanges in the Middle East for the benefit of the large number of expatriate Keralites in the Middle East who regularly send money home.

Once the facility is in place, money credited into accounts in the Middle East could be withdrawn the very same moment by anyone having an account with the bank.

Apart from IDBI, HDFC and the Centurion Bank have started operations in the state capital. UTI and ICICI are the other new generation banks expected to open shop in Trivandrum soon. Global Trust and Indus Ind. are the other new generation banks that have a presence in Kerala.