Bandhan Bank has adopted a strategy to reach out directly to its customers in a bid to provide clarity and allay concerns over the availability of banking services amid the lockdown.

A large part of the bank's nearly 2 crore customer base is from the semi-urban and rural parts of the country.

The bank on Friday said that it is reaching out to its customers over phone to check their well being and also appraising them over the various changes and directives for the banking sector in the lockdown period.

Bank officials said that customers are primarily seeking clarity on the loan moratorium announced by the RBI.

“These are challenging times we are witnessing as the human race. In such a situation, we are ensuring that the access to banking is available to our customers,” said Bandhan Bank managing director and CEO, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.

“Our branches are open everywhere unless there are restrictions placed by local authorities and the government. In our branches, we are maintaining all hygiene and social distancing precautions as prescribed by various authorities. We are making courtesy calls to many of our customers and re-emphasising the precautions needed against Covid and also checking if they need any help,” Ghosh said.

Sound financials

The bank on Friday said that its capital adequacy ratio at around 29 per cent is almost twice that of the all India average of 14.1 per cent.

According to the bank officials, its customer base for both assets and liability portfolio are retail in nature and the lending is primarily to small businesses and individuals in the housing segment, which has helped in maintaining a low net non performing asset ratio of 0.8 per cent as of December 31, 2019.