Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India announced that it has signed up a strategic contract with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to let bank’s clients to have access to various products offered by LIC.

The deal was signed in the company of LIC Chairman T. S. Vijayan and the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director K. C. Chakrabarty.

Thus far, LIC has signed deals with 31 banks via corporate agency model and with banks through referral model for developing banc assurance.

While lecturing on the occasion, Dr. Chakrabarty said that the banking institution had no immediate plans to slash its lending rates further.

He said, “We are already aggressive on PLR (prime lending rate) cut but have no immediate plans,” he told reporters.

“The government is giving 8 per cent on the post office savings schemes, so I cannot go down below that. But removal of certain structural bottlenecks like cross-subsidisation of interest rates could help in the reduction of prime lending rates,” he added.

PNB sponsored Haryana Gramin Bank attained a landmark by launching centralised banking solution (CBS) that would permit its clients to carry out banking at locations suitable for them.

Moreover, the country`s second largest state-run lender eyes a credit growth rate of 25-26% during the existing fiscal.

Presently, PNB’s credit growth stood at 30% and it also anticipates net interest margin at 3.5% this fiscal.

Dr. Chakrabarty also said that said that the bank`s aim was to lessen non-performing assets (NPA).

The bank’s current gross NPA was around Rs 320 billion.

Gross NPA should be around 2% and net NPA should be around 0.4-0.5%, he said.

PNB eyes profit growth of 20-25% in the fiscal year 2010.