Indian Bank Expands Operations in Southeast Asia and UAE
Chennai: Indian Bank, a state-owned financial institution, is set to broaden its reach by opening new branches in Malaysia and Indonesia. Additionally, the bank plans to establish a representative office in the UAE aimed at catering to the significant Indian community in the Middle East.
Binod Kumar, the Managing Director and CEO of Indian Bank, shared the news during an interview on Thursday. He noted, “We have received approval from our board for this expansion. There is a large Indian population in these regions, and Indonesia, being a major coal producer, presents us with good opportunities.”
The bank intends to launch one branch in each of the two Southeast Asian countries over the next one to two years, pending the necessary approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The office in the UAE will serve as a marketing hub rather than a branch, focusing on generating business for the bank.
Currently, Indian Bank operates three branches overseas. It has a long history of international presence, having opened its first international branch in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1932, followed by another in Singapore in 1942. In 2011, the bank added a second branch in Sri Lanka, located in Jaffna.
In terms of financial performance, Indian Bank reported a net profit of ₹3,061 crore for the quarter ending December 2025, reflecting a 7.3% increase compared to ₹2,852 crore in the same period last year. The operating profit rose by 5.8% year-on-year to ₹5,024 crore, while the net interest income climbed 7.5% to ₹6,896 crore during this quarter.
The bank also saw its Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) ratio improve, decreasing to 2.23% from 3.26% a year earlier. As of December 31, 2025, the total business of Indian Bank stood at ₹14.3 lakh crore, with aspirations to reach ₹15 lakh crore by the end of the fiscal year 2026, according to Kumar.
