Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) said it has opened its third branch in India.

The branch, at Aluva, near Kochi in the south Indian state of Kerala, was inaugurated by India's Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution K V Thomas in the presence of local political leaders, the bank's chief executive Abdul Karim Bucheery, senior management and BBK India head Mallikarjun Kota, said Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The Bahrain-based bank's presence in India dates back to 1985, when its first branch was opened in Mumbai. That was followed by the second one in Hyderabad. Last year, the Reserve Bank of India granted BBK the licence to operate the third branch in the country.

"We are pleased to strengthen our presence in India considering the strong ties between the two countries," Bucheery said.

"Even before entering the Indian market, BBK has always focused on offering products and services to the non-resident Indian (NRI) community in Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE."

"Our commitment to growing our business in India, in line with our overall expansion strategy, is ongoing and we have already applied for a licence to establish our fourth branch in one of the main cities of the country.

"India has enormous growth potential and we anticipate new opportunities to leverage our presence there and to capitalise on trade flows and money transfers between India and the Gulf," said Bucheery.

In addition to further widening the base of non-resident customers, the new branch is equipped with a full-fledged NRI desk offering them services like personalised banking, equity broking and wealth management.

It also caters to corporate customers including small and medium enterprises. - TradeArabia News Service.