Dhanlaxmi Bank launches two credit cards
New Delhi: Private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank announced the launch of two credit cards and said it would raise 
200 crore in the last week of this month from bonds to fund its business growth.
With the launch of two credit cards the bank has made a foray into retail business, said Amitabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director of Dhanlaxmi Bank. According to him, the credit cards were available in Gold and Platinum variants and were targeted at premium customers. The clients would, however, have to pay an annual fee on it. For the first time in India, he said, the bank was introducing a 'pay by transaction' billing mode for the cards.
Under the programme, instead of monthly billing cycle, the interest-free credit period is considered for individual transaction from the day of purchase. The customer, thus, enjoys a 45-day interest-free credit period on each purchase and does not need to time the purchase based on the billing cycle, Chaturvedi added. This feature, he said, also gives the customers the flexibility to decide their own re-payment cycles. At present, Dhanlaxmi Bank, with 270 branches, has a total business of about 12,000 crore.
In September 2009, the bank had raised 150 crore from Tier-II bonds. The unsecured redeemable subordinated non-convertible lower Tier-II bonds have a tenure of five years and seven months. "We are planning to raise 200 crore from Tier-II bonds this month for credit expansion," Chaturvedi added.
200 crore in the last week of this month from bonds to fund its business growth.
With the launch of two credit cards the bank has made a foray into retail business, said Amitabh Chaturvedi, Managing Director of Dhanlaxmi Bank. According to him, the credit cards were available in Gold and Platinum variants and were targeted at premium customers. The clients would, however, have to pay an annual fee on it. For the first time in India, he said, the bank was introducing a 'pay by transaction' billing mode for the cards.
Under the programme, instead of monthly billing cycle, the interest-free credit period is considered for individual transaction from the day of purchase. The customer, thus, enjoys a 45-day interest-free credit period on each purchase and does not need to time the purchase based on the billing cycle, Chaturvedi added. This feature, he said, also gives the customers the flexibility to decide their own re-payment cycles. At present, Dhanlaxmi Bank, with 270 branches, has a total business of about 12,000 crore.
In September 2009, the bank had raised 150 crore from Tier-II bonds. The unsecured redeemable subordinated non-convertible lower Tier-II bonds have a tenure of five years and seven months. "We are planning to raise 200 crore from Tier-II bonds this month for credit expansion," Chaturvedi added.