Operating profit for the year at Rs 148 crore has grown by 379 per cent over last year and 62 per cent over the previous quarter.

Commenting on the results, Mr Rana Talwar, Chairman, Centurion Bank of Punjab stated, ''This has been a transformational year for us. The Bank has made significant strides in increasing its profitability and scale of operations. The merger with Bank of Punjab has been an unqualified success. The results for the last two quarters demonstrate sustained improvement over all key parameters exhibiting the realization of synergies from the merger''.

UNI SN ADG SKB1939 * Results for the Year ended Mar 2005 are for Centurion Bank standalone and hence may not be comparable with the Mar 2006 results of the combined Bank ** The change over last quarter demonstrates a comparison between the 4Q FY06 and the 3Q FY06 results of Centurion Bank of Punjab post merger and are comparable # Operating profit for the Quarter and Year ended March 31, 2006 does not include the Rs. 625 Mil received under FSA *** Capital Adequacy includes Rs. 2.46 billion (of the total proposed Rs. 3.84 billion) through a preferential allotment Capital Adequacy and Net Worth During the quarter the Bank raised Rs. 2.46 billion of Tier I capital through a preferential allotment of equity shares to well-established private equity investors, India Value Fund and Citigroup Venture Capital. The Bank’s capital adequacy at the end of Mar 31, 2006 stood at 12.52%. The Tier I capital adequacy was 10.83%. The Net Worth of the Bank stood at Rs. 9,178 million.

Key Business Highlights Network Expansion Centurion Bank of Punjab now operates from 242 branches across 122 locations in India. The Bank received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to open up to 38 new branches within the next financial year.

Co-sourcing arrangement with First India Enterprises for SME Business The Bank has entered into a co-sourcing agreement for its SME business with First India Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Financial Holdings, Singapore. This arrangement will help the bank better service its current SME clients and incrementally expand this business segment going forward.

Partnership with Indecomm Global Services for Back office operations The Bank has entered into an enterprise partnership with Indecomm Global Services, a widely recognized international business process services firm to form Centillion Solutions and Services.

Centillion will focus on back office processing and related services for Banks and other financial services firms. This partnership will enable the bank to strengthen its back office processing and make operations a key competitive advantage over time.

Launch of the ‘Miracle’ Credit Card Centurion Bank of Punjab entered the credit card market with the launch of the ‘Miracle’ credit card in association with the Art of Living Foundation (AOL). The card provides a unique opportunity to Art of Living members and well wishers to spread smiles on the faces of thousands of rural children by making them ‘First Generation Literates’. The Bank has positioned the card as a ‘card with a conscience’ as each subscription facilitates members to make a very nominal contribution of Rs.50, while a matching contribution of Rs.50 is made by Centurion Bank of ...