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NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 24:
 

Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram at the golden jubilee fete of Bank of Baroda's UK operations. Also seen are Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director Dr Anil Khandelwal and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King.

        It's celebration time for Bank of Baroda (BoB) as it has completed 50 years in the United Kingdom. The bank organised for a function in London to commemorate its golden jubilee fete in UK operations.

        Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King were the guest of honours.

        In his address, P Chidambaram lauded the commendable contribution of the bank in the growth and progress of Indian economy. Terming the Indian banking sector as the key driver of the economic reforms, he assured that reforms in insurance and pension sectors are underway and would soon take off.

        Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was also praise for Bank of Baroda for its customer-friendly initiatives and its steadfast commitment to serve the people and the bank's international expansion symbolises the integration of Indian economy with the global economy.

        UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in a message, congratulated the bank for the excellent work done in UK since 1957 and wished Bank of Baroda to continue its strides in the coming years.

        Tracing the history, Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director Dr Anil Khandelwal said that the bank commenced with a humble beginning and grew from strength to strength to reach dizzy heights satisfying the varied financial needs of the customers across the globe.

        He said that the bank is fully committed to serve the two faces of India— rich and modern, deprived and distressed. And the bank took all initiatives to fulfill their needs. With a 29 million customer-base across 21 countries, he said that the bank took major expansion plans by opening branches across the country. The CMD expresed hope that Bank of Baroda is poised to touch the numero uno position in the Indian banking sector even when the bank is on a high growth trajectory with over 30 per cent growth last year and is all geared up to enter the 100th year of its service to the customers. Commemorating the golden jubilee fete in UK, the bank launched 'Rapid Funds2India', an instant money transfer product to interconnected branches in India.