Chennai: Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) is expanding in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The private sector bank is exploring deposit-focused ‘lite branches’, which will operate on the hub-and-spoke model.B Ramesh Babu, MD & CEO of KVB, said the bank wants to strengthen its position in the western region. “After the south, the next focus is the west. Maharashtra and Gujarat have good potential in the marine sector. In the past two years, most of our branches have been opened in the southern states. When we started moving towards the northwest, we found that many new districts had come up with high potential for deposits, but we did not have a presence there. Then, we thought we needed to have a branch in those areas. Overall, we are looking at geographic expansion next year. If there is a good opportunity in Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh, we will definitely go there,” he told TOI in a virtual interview. Out of the 898 branches, nearly 89% (797) are in the southern states and the Union Territory of Puducherry. After the South, Maharashtra and Gujarat have the highest number of branches, with a combined network of 41 branches as of Dec 2025. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu-headquartered bank is testing ‘lite branches’. Operating under the hub-and-spoke model, these will be positioned between banking correspondents and full-fledged branches, with each branch manned by three or four personnel. These deposit-focused branches will be supported by the sales team. “They will support the opening of deposit accounts and generate leads for advances. While the hub branch will be a full-fledged facility, the ‘lite branches’ will function as spokes. They may be upgraded to full-fledged facilities when the number of leads increases at the spoke branch and we get a clear indication to upgrade them,” he added. About 50–60 ‘lite branches’ were launched last year, including a few in Maharashtra. Six new ‘lite branches’ will be added by the end of this fiscal (FY26).
