Dear Stakeholders,
Your Directors have the pleasure of presenting the 99th
Annual Report of the Bank together with the Audited Statement of Accounts for the year
ended March 31, 2023, and the Auditors' Report thereon. The highlights of the operational
performance are as under:
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
'in crore
|
MARCH 31, 2023 |
MARCH 31, 2022 |
Net Profit |
1180.24 |
508.62 |
Operating Profit |
2208.23 |
1634.00 |
Net Interest Income (NII) |
3185.10 |
2491.03 |
Gross Income |
8212.81 |
7175.54 |
Deposits (A) |
87368.01 |
80386.85 |
Advances (B) |
59951.62 |
56783.14 |
Business Turnover (A)+ (B) |
147319.63 |
137169.99 |
Investments |
23326.37 |
22041.00 |
CASA deposits (as a share of total deposits) (%) |
32.97 |
32.97 |
Gross NPA (%) |
3.74 |
3.90 |
Net NPAs (%) |
1.70 |
2.42 |
Provision Coverage Ratio (%) |
80.86 |
73.47 |
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) (%) |
17.45 |
15.66 |
Return on Assets (%) |
1.21 |
0.56 |
Note: The figures mentioned are on a standalone basis. The consolidated
financial statements are furnished separately as part of this report.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
As on March 31, 2023, the Business Turnover of the Bank has reached a
new high of '147319.63 crore with a YoY growth of 7.40%. During FY 23, Bank registered an
all-time high net profit of '1180.24 crore with an impressive 132.05% YoY growth. The
deposits and advances grew by 8.68% and 5.58% YoY respectively. As of March 31,2023 the CD
ratio was 68.62%. Despite the northward movement of interest rates, Bank maintained the
share of CASA at 32.97%. The asset quality improved with a 16 bps and 72 bps reduction,
respectively, under Gross NPAs and Net NPAs. The Bank has further consolidated its
position in Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR), which improved to 80.86% and CRAR, which
improved to an all-time high of 17.45%. Overall, the year 2022-23 was yet another year of
satisfactory performance, witnessing further strengthening of the fundamentals of the
Bank.
DEPOSITS AND CASA
The total deposits grew by 8.68% during the FY under report, with CASA
deposits at 32.97% of the total deposits. The CASA deposits grew by 8.71% YoY. The
deposits below '2 crore accounted for about 92% of the total deposits, reflecting a strong
retail franchise.
ADVANCES
The advances grew by 5.58% YoY. The lending profile was well balanced
with the share of retail advance at 50.34% and mid corporate advances at 29.48% and the
share of Large corporate advances was at 20.18% of the loan book.
The priority sector advances increased from '32077 crore to '32181.73
crore forming 50.78% of applicable Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC). The agricultural
advances increased from Rs 10474 crore to '11305 crore, which, together with eligible
deposits under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), constituted 17.84 % of
ANBC during Q4FY23. Bank also focuses on lending under various socio-economic schemes,
weaker section schemes, MSMEs etc.
ASSET QUALITY AND PROVISION COVERAGE RATIO (PCR)
Your Bank has been focusing on improving the asset quality through
better credit appraisal and effective monitoring, as well as intensified recovery efforts.
In terms of absolute numbers, the GNPAs slightly increased to '2292.91 crore as on March
31, 2023, from Rs 2250.82 crore as on March 31, 2022. However, the percentage of Gross
NPAs reduced from 3.90 % as on March 31,2022, to 3.74 % as on March 31, 2023.
The amount of Net NPAs (NNPAs) reduced to '1021.27 crore as against
'1376.97 crore as on March 31, 2022 and during the period, the percentage of NNPAs
substantially improved to 1.70% as against 2.42% last year. The Provision Coverage Ratio
(PCR) improved to 80.86 % on March 31,2023 from 73.47 % on March 31,2022, thus further
strengthening the fundamentals.
INVESTMENTS
The total investments increased by 5.83% and the ID ratio stood at
26.70 % as on March 31,2023 as against 27.42 % on March 31, 2022.
OPERATIONAL METRICS
The Bank's gross income for the year ended March 31,2023, stood at
'8212.81 crore compared to '7175.54 crore last year recording a YoY growth of 14.46%.
The total expenditure (excluding provisions and contingencies)
increased by 8.36 % to '6004.58 crore for the year ended March 31, 2023, as against
'5541.54 crore for the last financial year. The cost to income ratio improved by 543 bps
to 47.14%.
During the FY, Net Interest Income (NII) grew by 27.86 % over the
previous year. The Net Interest Margin (NIM) also improved to 3.70 % from 3.18 % last
year.
The operating profit increased by 35.14 % to Rs 2208.23 crore for FY
2022-23 from Rs 1634.00 crore for the previous year due to improved Net Interest Income.
The provisions (other than tax) and contingencies for FY 2022-23 were Rs 767.19 crore
vis-a-vis '939.44 Crore for the previous year.
The net profit reached an all-time high of '1180.24 crore from Rs
508.62 crore during the previous year, registering a growth of 132.05 %.
APPROPRIATIONS
The net profit of Rs 1180.24 crore, along with a sum of '135.82 crore
brought forward from the previous year, aggregating to Rs 1316.06 crore, has been
appropriated as under:
Appropriation |
Rs in crore |
Transfer to Statutory Reserve |
296.00 |
Transfer to Capital Reserve |
NIL |
Transfer to Revenue and Special Reserves |
665.47 |
Transfer to Investment Fluctuation Reserve |
64.15 |
Dividend of 2021-22 paid during the year |
124.52 |
Balance carried over to Balance Sheet |
165.92 |
DIVIDEND
Having regard to the overall performance of the Bank, the Board of
Directors has recommended a dividend of '5/- per share (50%) for the year ended 31st
March 2023 (previous year '4/- per share (40%). The dividend payout ratio for the year
works out to 13.30% as against 24.47% for the previous year. In accordance with Accounting
Standard (AS)4-Contingencies & Event occurring after the balance sheet date, the
proposed dividend amounting to Rs 157 crores (Previous year '124.47 Crores) has not been
shown as an appropriation from the profit for the year ended March 31, 2023.
EARNINGS PER SHARE (EPS) and BOOK VALUE
The Earnings Per Share stood at '37.88 (basic) and '37.66 (diluted) for
the year ended March 31,2023. This was '16.36 (basic) and '16.29 (diluted) during the
previous year. The Book Value per share has further improved to '262.96 as on March
31,2023 as against '228.01 during the last year.
CAPITAL FUNDS AND CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIO (CRAR)
The Bank's capital funds increased from '8118.55 crore to '9312.53
crore. The Capital to Risk- Weighted Assets (CRAR) Ratio improved to a high of 17.45 % as
on March 31, 2023, as against the previous year's 15.66 %. The Bank has consistently
maintained the CRAR ratio well above the minimum requirement of 11.50 %, including the
Capital Conservation Buffer of 2.50 % stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India and the
Bank's internal policy of maintaining the CRAR one per cent over and above the regulatory
requirement.
EQUITY CAPITAL BASE
As on March 31,2023, the paid-up capital of your Bank stood at Rs
312,34,26,210 comprising 31,23,42,621 equity shares of '10/- each. During the year,
11,78,761 equity shares of '10/- each were allotted to option grantees upon exercise of
vested stock options under KBL ESOS-2018.
CHANGE IN CAPITAL BASE AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR
After the Financial Year's close, 2,24,901 equity shares of '10/- each
were allotted pursuant to the exercise of vested stock options by the grantees under KBL
ESOS-2018.
DEBT INSTRUMENTS AND CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSITS
Bank has issued Unsecured Non-Convertible BASEL III Debt Instruments as
a part of Tier-2 Capital on a private placement basis. These bonds are listed on the debt
segment of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE). The details of the debt instruments
outstanding as on March 31, 2023, are as under:
Series |
Date of Issue |
Face Value per Bond (') |
Number of Bonds |
Amount (' crore) |
Tenure from the date of issue |
Coupon Rate(% pa.) |
Credit Rating |
Listing |
ISIN of the Bonds |
V |
16.11.2018 |
1,00,000 |
40,000 |
400.00 |
120 |
12 |
ICRA 'A' & |
Listed on |
INE614B08039 |
VI |
18.02.2019 |
1,00,000 |
32,000 |
320.00 |
|
12 |
CARE 'A' |
NSE Deht |
INE614B08047 |
VII |
30.03.2022 |
1,00,00,000 |
300 |
300.00 |
months |
10.70 |
|
Segment |
INE614B08054 |
Your Bank has paid interest on these debt instruments on time since the
issue of respective debt instruments as per the terms of the issue. During the FY, the
bonds issued under Series IV matured on 17.11.2022 and were redeemed by the Bank on the
said due date.
Further, during the reporting year, Bank raised Rs. 400.00 crore for a
period of 90 days by issuing Certificates of Deposits (CDs) and there was no outstanding
as on March 31,2023.
TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY- 'KBL VIKAAS'
Your Bank had embarked on a holistic and aspirational transformation
journey KBL-VIKAAS in November 2017 to strengthen its digital capabilities and total
transformation in all the areas of its functioning. Under Phase-I of KBL- VIKAAS, many
milestones were achieved like institutionalization of marketing culture, setting up of
Digital Centre of Excellence (DCoE)/ Digi branch/ Digi Centres, digital underwriting of
Loans, review cadence, etc.
In Phase-II, i.e., under the 'KBL NxT' concept of KBL VIKAAS 2.0, the
journey is being taken up to further enhance the digital capabilities in all the banking
operations to have end-to-end digital solutions. During the FY, your Bank set up an
Analytical Centre of Excellence (ACoE) as a part of this initiative. Besides, over the
next three years, your Bank will be focusing on digitizing various customer-facing
activities and internal processes for increased efficiency.
Details about various digital initiatives introduced during the FY
2022-23 are furnished in Management Discussion and Analysis.
Leveraging through Bank's Wholly Owned Subsidiary:
Your Bank's wholly owned non-financial subsidiary-KBL Services Limited
has been operationalised with effect from March 30, 2021 and has started providing its
services to the Bank in augmenting its 'Feet on Street'. Presently, the subsidiary is
providing the services of Business Associates as the feet on street support and for
various back office processes in select areas.
RISK MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
In the normal course of business, banks are exposed to various risks,
namely, Credit Risk, Market Risk and Operational Risk, besides other residual risks such
as Liquidity Risk, Interest Rate Risk, Concentration Risk, Strategic Risk, Reputation Risk
etc. With a view to efficiently managing such risks, your Bank has put in place various
risk management systems and practices. In line with the guidelines issued by the Reserve
Bank of India from time to time, your Bank continues to strengthen various risk management
systems that include policies, tools, techniques, systems and other monitoring mechanisms.
Your Bank aims at achieving an appropriate trade-off between risks and
returns. Your Bank's risk management objectives broadly cover proper identification,
assessment, measurement, monitoring, controlling, mitigation and reporting of the risks
across various business segments of the Bank. The risk management strategy adopted by your
Bank is based on a clear understanding of the risks and the level of risk appetite, which
is dependent on the willingness of your Bank to take risks in the normal course of
business. A Board level committee, viz., Risk & Capital Management Committee (RCMC),
periodically reviews the risk profile, evaluates the overall risks encountered by the Bank
and develops policies and strategies for its effective management. Bank has an exclusive
risk management department and a Chief Risk Officer for the overall supervision of all the
risk related issues.
Various senior management committees, such as Credit Risk Committee
(CRC), Asset-Liability Management Committee (ALCO), Operational Risk Management Committee
(ORMC) etc., operate within the broad policy framework of the Bank to ensure and enhance
the risk control and governance framework within the Bank. The Risk Management Department
at Head Office oversees the overall implementation of various risk management initiatives
across the Bank. Your Bank's Risk Management Department (RMD) has been accredited with the
prestigious ISO 9001:2015 international certification for Quality Management System (QMS).
Under ISO Accreditation, Quality Policy has been defined, existing procedures and Standard
Operating Procedures were reviewed, and a formal Quality Management system (QMS) was
established to ensure that the Risk Management processes and practices of the Bank are in
line with the global standards.
In line with the guidelines issued by RBI, your Bank has nominated a
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), who is responsible for articulating and
enforcing the policies that the Bank uses to protect the information assets apart from
coordinating security-related issues in the implementation of new systems in the Bank.
A more elaborate discussion on how the Bank manages the key risks
associated with its operations is provided under Management Discussion and Analysis
attached to this report.
Basel III Capital Regulations - Implementation of Leverage Ratio:
To mitigate the risk of excessive leverage and enhance financial
stability, RBI mandated the minimum Leverage Ratio (LR) under Basel III Regulations for
banks in India. Both the capital measure and the exposure measure, along with the leverage
ratio are to be disclosed on a quarter-end basis. However, banks must meet the minimum
leverage ratio requirements at all times. As on March 31, 2023, your Bank had a
comfortable leverage ratio of 6.91% as against the regulatory minimum requirement of
3.50%.
Capital Adequacy & Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process
(ICAAP):
In compliance with Basel guidelines, Bank has put in place a policy
document for Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) to evaluate its capital
adequacy requirements. A stress testing framework for various stress scenarios is also put
in place for a better understanding of the likely impact of adverse market
movements/events on capital and earnings. The results of the ICAAP and Stress testing are
reviewed periodically to assess the capital requirement for the projected business growth,
keeping in view the risk appetite and risk profile of the Bank. A Board level Risk &
Capital Management Committee (RCMC) reviews the risk appetite, risk profile, business
projections as well as capital assessments of your Bank at periodic intervals.
The Disclosure under Pillar III of the Basel III accord has been
annexed to the Directors' Report as in Annexure-I. SEGMENT REPORTING
Pursuant to the Guidelines issued by RBI on Accounting Standard 17
(Segment Reporting), the Bank has identified four business segments viz., Retail Banking
('Digital Banking' as a Sub-segment under Retail Banking as per RBI circular
DOR.AUT.REC.12/22.01.001/2022-23 dated April 07, 2022, on establishment of Digital Banking
Unit (DBU)), Corporate / Wholesale Banking, Treasury and Other Banking Operations for the
year ended March 31, 2023 as under:
Segment |
Revenue Earned |
Contribution to Profit Before Tax and
un-allocable expenditure |
Retail Banking |
3755.78 |
1634.08 |
-Digital Banking Unit (DBU) |
0.01 |
-0.64 |
-Other Retail Banking |
3755.77 |
1634.72 |
Corporate / Wholesale Banking |
2691.29 |
462.62 |
Treasury Operations |
1276.83 |
182.23 |
Other Banking Operations |
424.58 |
-48.63 |
Details about aforesaid business segments are discussed in Management
Discussion and Analysis attached to this report.
Banking Outlets and Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs):
Your Bank has a strong presence in south India and has been judiciously
expanding its network of branches and controlling offices in other parts of the country
after examining the potential for business, earnings and customer outreach. As of 31st
March 2023, your Bank had 2376 service outlets including 901 branches (including two
Digital Banking Units), 871 ATMs, 603 cash recyclers (CRs) and one extension counter, with
a presence in 578 centres spread across 22 States and 2 Union Territories.
More Details are discussed in Management Discussion and Analysis
attached to this report.
Government Business:
Your Bank has been appointed by RBI as Agency Bank for the conduct of
government business and your Bank can now undertake revenue receipts and payments on
behalf of the Central/State Governments, pension payments and collection of Stamp Duty,
and any other item of work specifically approved by the concerned government department
and concurred by RBI. The handling of government business augurs well for your Bank as it
helps in facilitating the customers in tax payments, thus enhancing relationship
stickiness and as a source of revenue through eligible agency business commission.
Now, your Bank has engaged with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and
Customs (CBIC), Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Department of Treasuries,
Government of Karnataka (GoK) for the collection of Taxes and various revenues. Bank has
started collecting customs duty through the ICEGATE portal on behalf of CBIC and also
integrated with Khajane II IFMS SNA 4 module for Central/ State Sponsored schemes.
Your Bank has launched exclusive products and services for Government
Departments, Boards, Bodies and Corporations to suit their needs.
Third-Party Products and Insurance Business:
With an aim to provide diversified financial products & services
and to maximize value-added services to the customers, your Bank provides a bouquet of
Third Party Products, which include Life Insurance, General Insurance, Health Insurance,
Mutual Funds, Demat Account, Trading Account, Co-branded Credit Cards, PoS Network, KBL
FASTag, NPS, SGB, APY, etc. A summary of the major third-party products is provided in
Management Discussion and Analysis attached to this report.
Customer Service:
Your Bank is continuously focusing on creating new benchmarks in
customer service so as to make the Bank distinctly more competitive. This necessitates the
designing of innovative and cost-effective mechanisms for delivering banking services
efficiently. The Bank is actively involved in putting in place a system and procedures for
banking services rendered to customers and an effective grievance redressal mechanism,
including an Internal Ombudsman [IO] as per the guidelines received from RBI and IBA from
time to time. Bank is also providing doorstep banking services to Senior Citizen customers
of more than 70 years of age and differently-abled or infirm persons including the
visually impaired.
Credit Monitoring Excellence:
In order to have an effective post-sanction monitoring and collection
mechanism, an exclusive Credit Monitoring Department (CrMD) is set up at Head Office.
Regional Collection Hubs (RCH) consisting of the Regional Retail Collection Teams (RRCT)
and Regional Corporate Collection Teams (RCCT) are set up at all the Regional offices. The
RRCTs and
RCCTs follow up/initiate time-bound/DPD-wise actions to ensure the
collection of dues in respect of all loan accounts under the overall supervision of CrMD.
Dedicated Credit Monitoring Teams (CrMT) are also functioning under RCHs at all the
Regional Offices to undertake post-sanction monitoring of loan accounts of the respective
regions. With a view to improve the efficiency in monitoring & follow-up activities,
various digital initiatives, viz., implementation of web- based Collection
Tool-"KBL-Kollect+", the introduction of Auto Sweep system for auto collection
of EMI / Installment/ Interest of loans from operating accounts of borrowers, E-Connect
solution for making payment to the loan accounts through UPI, Auto-capturing of Early
Warning Signals etc., are put in place.
For close monitoring of the restructured advances, Bank has formed an
exclusive cell, viz., "Restructured Advances Monitoring Cell" within the Credit
Monitoring Department. Further, a Consortium & Multiple Banking Arrangement Cell was
also formed for special monitoring of loan accounts under Consortium & Multiple
Banking Arrangement.
With an integrated approach to contain stress in the portfolio, Bank
has been able to contain overall stress in the advances portfolio.
SUPPORT AND CONTROL FUNCTIONS Information Technology:
The Bank has adopted Core Banking System (CBS) since the year 2000, and
all its branches and offices are under the CBS network. Alternate Delivery channels, viz.,
ATM, Internet Banking, Mobile Banking, UPI, and PoS, have been integrated with the CBS.
Disaster Recovery [DR] arrangement also exists to ensure business continuity in the event
of a primary site failure. This arrangement is strengthened by implementing a three-way
data replication process aimed at maintaining zero data loss. Critical applications like
CBS, ATM, Internet Banking and Mobile Banking are part of this arrangement. Bank's Primary
Data Centre is operating from a Tier-4 Colocation Centre. Bank's IT infrastructure as a
whole is supervised by the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Human Resources:
As on March 31, 2023, Bank had 8652 employees, of which 2644 are women
employees constituting around 30.56% of the total strength. Your Bank recognizes the
significance of Human Resources as an important asset and attaches the greatest importance
to employee upskilling, employee satisfaction and human resource development activities.
Bank has introduced ECDS (Employee Career and Development System) by operationalizing the
PMS (Performance Management System). Bank has also put in place TMC (Talent Management
Committee) to identify and groom the talent as part of succession planning. Further, the
Bank provides training and development opportunities to the employees, which are discussed
in detail in the Managing Discussion and Analysis.
Your Bank has put in place an institutional mechanism for the
protection of women employees at the workplace and adopted a policy pursuant to Section 22
of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal)
Act, 2013, providing for the protection of women employees against the sexual harassment
of women at the workplace and redressal of such complaints. There was no complaint pending
at the beginning of the FY, and no complaint was received during the year under report.
Your Bank values opinions and suggestions from all the employees and
encourages their inputs, thoughts and innovative ideas, which help in creating a highly
productive, competitive and reliable workforce, thereby emerging as a preferred
destination for the competent workforce. Further, your Bank has maintained cordial
industrial relations and effective employee discipline.
EMPLOYEE STOCK OPTIONS (ESOP)
Your Bank has the below-mentioned Employee Stock Option Schemes in
force as on March 31,2023:
1. Employee Stock Option Scheme 2018 (ESOS 2018) was approved by the
shareholders on July 21,2018. During the reporting year, there was no grant of options
under ESOS 2018. However, the grantees have exercised 11,78,761 vested stock options as
per the terms of the ESOP Scheme, which were granted to them during earlier years.
2. Employee Stock Option Scheme-2023 (ESOS-2023), was approved by the
shareholders of the Bank on March 30, 2023, with a total of 15,00,000 stock options
available for grant. During the reporting year, there was no grant of options under
ESOS-2023.
Other statutory disclosures required as per SEBI guidelines/Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations,
2021 are provided on the website of the Bank at the link: https://
karnatakabank.com/sites/default/files/2023-08/ESOP%20Disclosure%202022-23%20.pdf
Risk Based Supervision (RBS)
In view of the growing complexities in the processes, product offerings
and systems and procedures in the Indian banking sector, pursuant to the recommendation of
the High-Level Steering Committee, the Reserve Bank of India has shifted its supervisory
stance to a risk-based approach called the Supervisory Program for Assessment of Risk and
Capital (SPARC) which is focusing on evaluating both present and future risks, identifying
incipient problems and facilitating prompt intervention / early corrective action etc.
Your Bank has been included under the same and migrated to Risk Based Supervision since
March 31, 2015. A plan of action for complying with various findings in RBS communicated
to the Bank in the Risk Assessment Report is also ensured.
Compliance Function
Your Bank is effectively addressing Compliance Risk through the
Compliance function. The compliance function is one of the key elements in the Bank's
Corporate Governance structure along with internal control and risk management process.
Bank has set up a robust Compliance Department with sufficient independence to promote a
healthy compliance culture. Bank ensures strict observance of all statutory provisions,
guidelines from RBI and other Regulators, standards and codes, the Bank's internal
policies and fair practices code. The compliance function includes
interpretation/dissemination of regulatory and statutory guidelines and ensures that
controls and procedures capture the appropriate information to the Senior Management in
their risk management function. The risk-based compliance programme of the Bank, under the
supervision of the Chief Compliance Officer, ensures appropriate coverage across
businesses, besides verifying the level of compliance through 'Compliance Testing' of
branches/business units. The Bank carries out an annual compliance risk assessment to
identify and assess its significant compliance risks and take steps to manage the risks
effectively. Further, the tone from the Top management continuously emphasizes the
significance of compliance to usher in perceptible improvements in the overall compliance
culture of the Bank.
Vigil Mechanism
The Bank has implemented the Protected Disclosure Policy (Whistle
Blower Policy) since the year 2007, intended to promote the participation of employees at
all levels and detection of corruption, misuse of Office, criminal offences,
suspected/actual fraud, failure to comply with the rules and regulations prescribed by the
Banks and any events/ acts detrimental to the interest of the Bank, depositors and the
public resulting in financial loss/operational risk, loss of reputation etc. Further, the
mechanism adopted by the Bank encourages the Whistle Blower to report genuine concerns or
grievances and provides for adequate safeguards against the victimization of Whistle
Blower who avails of such mechanism and also provides for direct access to the Chief of
Internal Vigilance (CIV). Further, there was no occasion where a person was denied access
to the Audit Committee. The details of Whistle Blower Policy are posted on Bank's website
and available at the https://karnatakabank.com/sites/default/files/2023-06/Policy%20
on%20Whistle%20Blower%202023-24.pdf
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the Bank are
designed to make a positive impact on a wide range of areas of social life like
healthcare, education, livelihood enhancement, empowering women/socially and economically
disadvantaged, environmental sustainability/ green initiatives, protection of heritage/
culture, promotion of sports, rural development, Swachh Bharath etc., aimed at promoting
the overall development of the society. Further, to minimize the urban-rural divide, your
Bank has been strengthening its rural orientation through initiatives aimed at imparting
financial literacy and extending banking services to the people in rural unbanked areas in
a fair and transparent manner at an affordable cost.
Further, pursuant to Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with
Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, the Board has constituted
a 'Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee' of the Board and has also put in place
a Policy on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR Policy) to undertake projects/programmes
in pursuance of the said Policy. Under CSR activities, Bank has so far funded 1812
projects with a total financial outlay of '74.20 crore, and these projects have exhibited
a positive impact on society.
Pursuant to Rule 8 of the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility
Policy) Rules, 2014, the contents of the CSR Policy, along with the report on amounts
spent on various projects/ programmes during FY2022-23, are detailed in Annexure-2 to this
report. Further, in terms of Rule 4(5) of the CSR rules, certification from the Chief
Financial Officer has been obtained for the CSR outlay during FY 2022-23.
Financial Inclusion:
Through the Financial Inclusion Plan, your Bank aims at 'connecting
people' with the Bank and and not at just opening accounts. This includes meeting the
small credit needs of the rural public, giving them access to the payments system,
providing remittance facilities, life insurance and health insurance etc. Your Bank has
418 branches, apart from 35 Ultra Small Branches, located in the rural and semi-urban
areas and offers banking facilities to the rural clientele. Our rural branches are also
acting as Financial Literacy Centers (FLCs) and imparting banking literacy among the rural
populace. In accordance with Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Bank has
implemented the revised Strategy and Guidelines for Financial Inclusion activities. Your
Bank is actively participating in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Programme of Govt. of
India to transfer the benefits of various Schemes / LPG subsidies directly to the
beneficiaries' Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts.
As part of the Financial Inclusion plan, Bank has been offering the
following services:
1. Business Correspondent (BC) services: Bank has tied up with Sub-K
Impact Solutions Limited to provide the BC services, and as on March 31,2023, 121 BC
Agents are covering the allocated villages in the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh.
2. Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AEPS): Bank has introduced AEPS
transaction services offered by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) at all
Business Correspondent (BC) locations of the Bank, and with this, the Bank's customers
having an Aadhar-enabled SB account can transact at the BC point.
3. Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling Centers (FLCs): Bank is
running 5 FLCs at B.C Road - Bantwal, Hangal, Kundagol, Tiptur and Alur (Karnataka).
During FY23, these FLCCs have conducted 795 Financial Literacy campaigns in which 54,960
participants took part. In adherence to the RBI guidelines, all rural branches of your
Bank are also conducting financial literacy Camps.
4. Social Security Schemes: All the branches of your Bank are actively
involved in providing three Social Security Schemes-Prime Minister Jeevan Jyothi Bima
Yojana (PMJJBY), Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
schemes to customers across the country.
5. Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): All the branches across the
country are opening accounts under PMJDY and are issuing RuPay Debit Cards.
6. Bank is one of the trustees of Karnataka Farmers Resource Center
(KFRC), Bagalkot, established to impart training and act as a resource centre for farmers
under the umbrella of SLBC Karnataka. Bank has contributed Rs 50.00 lakhs towards the
capital expenditure/corpus of KFRC.
7. In line with the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor's Atmanirbhar Scheme,
Bank has rolled out KBL- PM - SVANidhi scheme providing working capital loans up to
'50,000/- to the street vendors to support their businesses.
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES:
Your Bank has bagged the following awards during the year under report
in recognition of its achievement:
i. ' Excellence Award-Runner Up' under Lending in Small Bank category
by ASSOCHAM 17th Annual Summit & Awards Banking & Financial Sector
Lending Companies.
ii. Three prestigious awards from Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) - Digital Transformation (DX) in BFSI segment for 'Innovative' Best Practice under
the following categories:
a) 'KBL HR NxT'
b) 'KBL Operations NxT'
c) 'KBL Customer NxT'
iii. 'Award of Par Excellence' received in APY Strategy Review Meeting
& Felicitation Programme organised by PFRDA held on 18.11.2022 under 'Beat the Best
& Be the Best' category for South Zone.
iv. ' Best Technology Talent-Runner Up' award at the 18th
IBA annual Technology Conference, Expo & Awards 2022, conferred by Indian Banks'
Association (IBA) Mumbai.
v. ' Prathista Puraskar' under 'Digidhan Awards 2021-22' by Ministry of
Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Govt. of India for achieving target with
highest percentage in BHIM-UPI transactions in Private Sector Bank category.
vi. Three (3) Awards at 'MSME Banking Excellence Awards-2022' by CIMSME
(Chamber of Indian Micro Small & Medium Enterprises) held on 23.02.2023 at New Delhi,
as detailed herebelow:
a) CSR Initiative Bank - Winner
b) Best MSME Bank - Runner-Up
c) MSME Friendly Bank - Runner-Up
vii. The Bank stood Sixth position among all the Banks in India under
Digital Payment Performance as on March 2022 as published by the Ministry of Electronics
& Information Technology, Govt. of India. Our Bank stood at First position in the list
under Category Specific Bank-wise Digital Payment Performance-Small & Micro Banks.
Implementation of Ind AS:
As per the roadmap given by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide circular
dated February 11, 2017, transition to "Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS)' in
banks were to commence from the accounting period beginning April 1, 2018 onwards.
However, RBI vide its circular No.DBR.BP.BC.No.29/21.07.001/2018-19 dated March 22, 2019
has deferred implementation of Ind-AS in Banks till further notice.
The Bank has set up a Steering Committee head by the Managing Director
and also a sub-committee called IFRS Working Group involving stakeholder departments to
facilitate on a continuous basis the process of smooth implementation of Ind AS in the
Bank and to have detailed discussions and deliberations on Ind AS Standards and related
RBI Circulars. As stipulated by RBI, Bank has been submitting the Proforma Ind AS
Financial statements at half yearly intervals. Also, as a prudent measure, Bank is
preparing Proforma Ind AS financials on a quarterly basis and the estimated impact along
with latest update on the Ind AS implementation in the Bank is placed to the Audit
Committee of the Board.
DIVIDEND DISTRIBUTION POLICY
Your Bank has adopted a Policy on the Distribution of Dividend to the
shareholders pursuant to the Regulation 43A of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015. The Gist
of the Dividend Distribution Policy is as under:
Being a Banking entity, Dividend Distribution is guided by the
RBI Circular DBOD.No.BP.BC.8821.02.67/2004-05 dated May 5, 2005, with regard to
eligibility criteria for distribution of dividend.
Factors considered for a recommendation of dividend includes
both internal factors such as financial performance, dividend payout trends, tax
implications, and corporate actions and external factors such as shareholders'
expectations, macro environment etc.
Factors considered for determining the quantum of dividend
include financial performance, capital fund requirements to support future business
growth, having regard to the dividend payout ratio prescribed under the aforesaid RBI
Guidelines etc.
The Dividend Distribution Policy of the Bank is available on Bank's
website at https://karnatakabank.com/sites/default/
files/2023-04/Policy%20on%20Dividend%20Distribution%202023-24.pdf
As discussed earlier, the Board of Directors has recommended payment of
dividend duly complying with the Reserve Bank of India directions for payment of dividend
out of the profit for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.
ANNUAL RETURN
Pursuant to Section 92(3) of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 12
of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014, a copy of the Annual Return
of the Company for FY2023 prepared in accordance with Section 92(1) of the Act has been
placed on the website and is available at https://karnatakabank.com/investor-portal/
annual-report
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In accordance with the provisions of Section 129(3) of the Companies
Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 of Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, the Bank has prepared
Consolidated Financial Statement including its subsidiary - KBL Services
Limited and pursuant to the provisions of Accounting Standard ('AS')
21, the Consolidated Financial Statements notified under Section 133 of the Companies Act,
2013, read together with Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, the Consolidated
Financial Statements of the Bank along with its subsidiary for the year ended March 31,
2023 forms part of the Annual Report. The financial position and performance of the
subsidiary are given in Form AOC-1 attached to this Report as Annexure-3.
In accordance with the third proviso to Section 136(1) of the Companies
Act, 2013, the Annual Report of the Bank, containing therein its Standalone and
Consolidated Financial Statements has been hosted on the website, https://
karnatakabank.com. Further, as per the fourth proviso to the said Section, the Audited
Annual Accounts of the said subsidiary company of the Bank, considered as part of the
Consolidated Financial Statements have also been hosted on the Bank's website:
https://karnatakabank.com. The documents/details available on the Bank's website: https://
karnatakabank.com will also be available for inspection by any member at its Registered
Office.
INVESTOR RELATION CELL
To maintain a regular connect with the investors, your Bank has a
dedicated Investor Relation Cell at the Registered Office. Besides redressing the
grievances, if any, from the investors, the Cell proactively disseminates corporate
information on a voluntary basis to the shareholders through email (wherever made
available) about financial results, major events and coverage about the Bank in the media
etc.
DIRECTORS AND CHANGES IN THE BOARD
As of March 31, 2023, your Bank's Board comprised of eleven Directors
with one Independent woman director. Except the then Managing Director & CEO - Mr.
Mahabaleshwara M S, Mr. Sekhar Rao, Executive Director and Mr. B R Ashok, Non-Executive
Director, all of them are Independent Directors. The details of the criteria for
appointment and remuneration of Directors are provided in the report on Corporate
Governance under Annexure-4.
During the FY 2022-23, the Bank has inducted Mr Jeevandas Narayan (DIN:
07656546) and Mr Kalmanje Gururaj Acharya (DIN: 02952524) as Additional Directors
(Non-Executive, Independent) w.e.f. April 26, 2022 and their appointment as Independent
Directors was approved by the shareholders vide resolution dated June 02, 2022 passed via
Postal ballot (e-voting). Further, Bank has also appointed Mr. Sekhar Rao (DIN: 06830595)
as Executive Director w.e.f. February 01, 2023 and his appointment was approved by the
shareholders vide resolution dated March 30, 2023, passed via Postal ballot (e-voting).
During the year under report, Mrs. Mythily Ramesh, Independent
Director, retired on March 13, 2023 upon completion of her tenure of five years.
Further, subsequent to March 31,2023, Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S retired
from the post of Managing Director & CEO on April 14, 2023 upon completion of his
tenure.
The Board places on record its appreciation for the valuable
contributions and the guidance given by them during their tenure in office.
Further, pursuant to the approval of RBI, your Bank has appointed Mr
Srikrishnan Hari Hara Sarma (Mr Srikrishnan H) as the Managing Director & CEO of the
Bank for a period of three years who has assumed charge w.e.f. June 09, 2023. The Board of
Directors recommends his appointment as the Managing Director & CEO of the Bank for
approval by the shareholders and accordingly, a resolution seeking appointment of Mr
Srikrishnan H as the Managing Director & CEO has been included in the Notice of 99th
AGM for approval of the members.
Considering the appointment of whole time Directors (WTD) i.e., MD
& CEO and ED for a fixed tenure with prior approval of RBI under section 35B of
Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Bank has been following the practice of the office of WTDs
not being subjected to retirement by rotation. However, in view of the present
constitution of the Board and provisions of Section 152(6) of Companies Act, 2013, it is
proposed that the office of WTDs shall also be liable for retirement by rotation, within
the overall tenure permitted by RBI. Hence, it is proposed to to partially amend the terms
of appointment of the Executive Director- Mr. Sekhar Rao to this effect.
Hence, a resolution seeking shareholders' approval for the amendments
to the terms of appointment of Mr. Sekhar Rao is included in the Notice of 99th AGM.
Considering the foregoing and as per Section 152(6) of Companies Act,
2013, at the ensuing AGM, Mr. B R Ashok, NonExecutive Director being the longest in office
shall retire on rotation. Further, being eligible, he has offered himself for
reappointment. In the opinion of the Board Mr. B R Ashok has the integrity, expertise and
requisite experience, which is beneficial to the business interest of the Bank. Based on
performance evaluation and the due diligence carried out under 'Fit and Proper' norms of
RBI, the Board recommends his re-appointment for approval by the members of the Bank.
Accordingly, a resolution seeking the reappointment of Mr. B R Ashok has been included in
the Notice of 99th AGM.
MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (MD & CEO)
Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S (DIN: 07645317) was reappointed as the Managing
Director & CEO of the Bank upon receipt of approval from RBI to hold office from April
15, 2020, for a period of three years i.e., till April 14, 2023, in accordance with
Section 35B of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and upon completion of his term, Mr.
Mahabaleshwara M S retired from the position of MD & CEO on April 14, 2023. As per the
approval received from RBI, Mr. Sekhar Rao was appointed as the interim MD& CEO from
April 15, 2023 upto June 08, 2023.
As mentioned earlier, Mr. Srikrishnan H has assumed charge as the
Managing Director & CEO of the Bank w.e.f. June 9, 2023, for a period of three years.
DECLARATION BY INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 149(7) of the Companies Act, 2013
and Regulation 25(8) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, your Bank has received necessary
declarations from all the Independent Directors confirming that they meet the criteria of
independence for Independent Directors as on March 31, 2023.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF THE BOARD
Your Board of Directors has laid down criteria and process for
performance evaluation of Directors, Chairman, Wholetime Directors, Committees of the
Board and Board as a whole. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) of the Board
annually reviews and approves the criteria and the mechanism for carrying out the
evaluation exercise effectively. The statement indicating the manner in which formal
annual evaluation of the Directors, the Board and Committees of the Board etc., are given
in detail in the report on Corporate Governance under Annexure-4. In pursuance to the
above, the Independent Directors, in their separate meeting held on February 21, 2023,
have reviewed and evaluated the performance of the Board as a whole and the Non-Executive
Director. Further, the Board has also reviewed the performance of the Committees of the
Board and that of individual Independent Directors at its meeting held on April 12, 2023.
As per Bank's Policy on Performance Evaluation, the performance
evaluation of the Managing Director & CEO shall be carried out after the publication
of the audited financial results. Accordingly, the performance evaluation of the MD &
CEO has been carried out by the Independent Directors at their meeting held on June 16,
2023.
CONTRACTS OR ARRANGEMENTS WITH RELATED PARTIES
All transactions with the related parties that were entered into during
the year under report were in the ordinary course of the business of the Bank and were on
an arm's length basis. There were no materially significant related party transactions
entered into by the Bank with the Directors, Key Managerial Personnel or other persons
which may have a potential conflict with the interest of the Bank. As such disclosure in
Form AOC-2 is not applicable. The Policy on dealing with Related Party Transactions as
approved by the Audit Committee/ Board has been placed on the website of the Bank under
the Investor Portal.
DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
In accordance with Section 134(3)(c), 134(5) of the Companies Act,
2013, read with Rule 8 of the Companies (Accounts) Rule, 2014 and other applicable
provisions, your Directors state that:
a) In the preparation of the annual accounts, the applicable accounting
standards have been followed along with proper explanations relating to material
departures.
b) The Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied
them consistently and made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as
to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Bank as of the end of
financial year March 31, 2023, and profit and loss for that period.
c) The Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013, for safeguarding the assets of the Bank and for preventing and
detecting fraud and other irregularities.
d) The Directors have prepared the annual accounts on a going concern
basis.
e) The Directors have laid down the internal financial controls
followed by the Bank and that such internal financial controls are adequate and are
operating effectively.
f) The Directors have devised proper systems to ensure compliance with
the provision of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating
effectively.
STATUTORY DISCLOSURES
The disclosures under sub-section (3) of Section 134 of the Companies
(Accounts) Rules, 2014 are furnished below:
a) Conservation of energy and technology absorption: Considering the
nature of the Bank's business, the provisions of Section 134(3)(m) of the Companies Act,
2013 relating to conservation of energy and technology absorption are not applicable to
your Bank. The Bank has, however, used information technology in its operations
extensively. Further, to promote renewable sources of energy, Bank has installed solar
panels at the Corporate Office, a few Regional Offices and Bank's few owned premises.
b) During the year ended March 31,2023, the Bank earned '3.36 crore and
spent '1.93 crore in foreign currency.
c) There were no significant and material orders passed by the
regulators or courts or tribunals impacting the going concern status and the Bank's
operations in future.
d) Internal financial control systems and their adequacy: Your Bank has
laid down standards, processes and structure facilitating the implementation of internal
financial control across the Bank and ensure that same are adequate and operating
effectively.
e) Key Managerial Personnel:
Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S, MD & CEO (demitted his office on
April 14, 2023 upon completion of his term), Mr. Abhishek S Bagchi, CFO and Mr Sham K,
Company Secretary, were the Key Managerial Personnel of the Bank as on March 31, 2023, as
per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
Mr. Prasanna Patil the then Company Secretary, resigned from the
services of the Bank and was relieved w.e.f. August 31,2022.
Mr. Sham K joined the Bank as Company Secretary & Compliance
Officer of the Bank w.e.f. February 27, 2023.
Mr. Muralidhar Krishna Rao, upon completion of his contractual
term demitted the office of Chief Financial Officer on March 01,2023, and Mr. Abhishek S
Bagchi assumed charge as the Chief Financial Officer w.e.f. March 02, 2023.
f) Remuneration of Directors: Disclosure pursuant to Section 197 (12)
of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5 of the Companies (Appointment and
Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014 are given in Annexure-7 to this report.
g) During the financial year 2022-23, there was no employee who was in
receipt of remuneration requiring disclosure as per the limits prescribed under Section
197 of the Companies Act, 2013, read with Rule 5 of The Companies (Appointment and
Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014. However, the remuneration (including
variable pay determined in the subsequent financial year) pertaining to the Whole Time
Directors is subject to prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India. The details of
remuneration paid to Mr. Mahabaleshwara M S, the then Managing Director & CEO and Mr.
Sekhar Rao, Executive Director (w.e.f. February 01,2023) are provided in the Corporate
Governance Report.
I n terms of Section 197(12) of the Act, read with Rule 5(2) and 5(3)
of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, a
statement showing the names and other particulars of the Top-10 employees in terms of
remuneration drawn forms part of this annual report. In accordance with the provisions of
Section 136(1) of the Act, the annual report excluding the aforesaid information, is being
sent to the members of the Bank and others entitled thereto. The said information is
available for inspection by the members at the Registered Office of the Bank during
business hours of the Bank up to the date of the ensuing
Annual General Meeting. Any member interested in obtaining a copy
thereof, may write to us at investor.grievance@ktkbank.com.
h) There are no material changes affecting the financial position of
the Bank which have occurred between the end of the financial year of the Bank to which
the financial statements relate and the date of this Report.
i) Particulars of loans, guarrentees or investments under section
186:Nil
j) Any changes in nature of business during the year under report:Nil
NUMBER OF BOARD MEETINGS
During the year under report the Board met 17 times and the details
thereof are provided in the report on Corporate Governance attached to this report.
COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
As on March 31, 2023, the Bank had 12 Committees of the Board which
were constituted to comply with the requirements of relevant provisions of the applicable
laws and for operational efficiency. Details of the meetings of the Board and the
Committees, their composition (as on March 31, 2023), terms of reference, powers, roles
etc., are furnished in the report on Corporate Governance attached to this report in
Annexure-4.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Your Bank is committed to adopt the best practice of corporate
governance to protect the interests of all the stakeholders of the Bank, viz.
shareholders, depositors and other customers, employees and society in general and
maintain transparency at all levels. A detailed report on corporate governance practices
is given in Annexure 4 to this report.
BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY & SUSTAINABILITY REPORT:
Bank has adopted various policies that imbibe the best practices with
regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. In this context, Bank has
prepared a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the Financial Year
2022-23, prepared in accordance with the requirements under Regulation 34(2)(f) of
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)
Regulations, 2015 and as per the format devised by the Securities and Exchange Board of
India vide Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562 dated May 10, 2021. The same is
provided under Annexure-8.
AUDITORS
a. Statutory Auditors:
At the 98th Annual General Meeting M/s Sundaram &
Srinivasan, Chartered Accountants (Firm Registration No. 004207S) and M/s Kalyaniwalla
& Mistry LLP (Firm Registration No./ LLP No. 104607W/W100166), Chartered Accountants,
were appointed as joint Statutory Auditors of the Bank to hold office upto the ensuing
99th Annual General Meeting, being their second year in office. The Board of Directors
proposes to the members continuation of the aforesaid auditors to hold office upto the
conclusion of 100th Annual General Meeting.
As per the extant RBI guidelines and Bank's Policy on Appointment of
Statutory Auditors(SAs), the maximum tenure of SAs is for a period of three years, and FY
2023-24 (i.e., up to the 100th AGM) will be the third year in office for the existing
audit firms and thereafter, the present auditors need to be rested and the Bank will be
required to appoint new auditors. Therefore, with a view to ensure continuity of auditors,
the Board of Directors of the Bank at its meeting held on June 17, 2023, on the
recommendation of the Audit Committee approved the appointment of M/s Ravi Rajan & Co
LLP, Chartered Accountants (Firm Registration No./LLP No. 009073N/ N500320), New Delhi.
Thus, for the current FY 2023-24, there will be three joint auditors. As the existing two
audit firms would be completing their third year of appointment by next year i.e., FY
2024-25, and having appointed one of the new audit firms this year, Bank shall appoint
another new joint statutory auditor during FY 2024-25 and such two firms, with necessary
approvals, will be jointly conducting the statutory audit thereafter.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors recommends the appointment of M/s.
Ravi Rajan & Co LLP, Chartered Accountants, New Delhi, as third Statutory Auditor of
the Bank for the financial year 2023-24 (i.e., up to the conclusion of the 100th
AGM). Pursuant to Section 30(1A) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, approval has
been obtained from the RBI vide their letter dated July 20, 2023. The
Bank has received consent from the above auditors and necessary confirmation from them
that they are not disqualified from being appointed as auditors of the Bank pursuant to
the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Rules made thereunder.
b. Secretarial Audit Report:
Pursuant to Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules
thereunder, your Bank has appointed M/s. BMP & Co, LLP, Bengaluru, Company Secretaries
in practice as the Secretarial Auditor to conduct the Secretarial Audit for the year ended
March 31, 2023. The audit report from the Secretarial Auditor is annexed to this report as
a part of Annexure-6.
Pursuant to Regulation 24A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2015 read with SEBI Circular No. CIR/CFD/CMD1/27/2019 dated
February 08, 2019, the Bank has obtained the Annual Secretarial Compliance Report,
certified by CS Pramod S M (COP: 13784), BMP & Co. LLP, Company Secretaries in
practice, Bengaluru, for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, on compliance of all
applicable SEBI Regulations and circulars/ guidelines issued thereunder and a copy was
submitted to the Stock Exchanges within the prescribed timeline.
During the FY 2022-23, pursuant to Section 143(12) of the Act, neither
the Statutory Auditors nor the Secretarial Auditor of the Bank have reported any instances
of fraud committed in the Bank by its officers or its employees.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Board of Directors would like to place on record their sincere
gratitude to the customers of the Bank, depositors, shareholders for their unwavering
support, patronage and goodwill. Your Directors also place on record their gratitude for
the continued guidance and support provided by the Reserve Bank of India, other government
and regulatory authorities, financial institutions and correspondent banks. Your Directors
express their deep sense of appreciation to all the staff members, for their contribution
to the Bank's quest for sustained growth and profitability and look forward to their
continued contribution to scaling greater heights.
For and on behalf of the Board of Directors P Pradeep Kumar |
Part-time Chairman Place: Mangaluru Date: August 03, 2023 |
|