Tuesday, July 01, 2008

If nothing works...

...change your name! UTI shows the way
The father of all name changes just ‘happened’ and you didn’t even know about it! Or maybe you did! While all other banks were opting for financial restructuring to meet Basel-II norms, the erstwhile UTI Bank has opted for a brand restructuring. However, this entails just a change in name that was borrowed 13 years ago from UTI AMC; a ‘name-usage’ license which was due to expire in January 2008. Therefore, to avoid the public sector bank connotation that it carried and to levy off the royalty expenses that were to fall on the fifth largest bank in our country, UTI Bank recently rechristened itself as Axis Bank. Company officials told 4Ps B&M, “The decision to rename the bank emanated from the need to move out of a scenario of brand confusion that was being created by several shareholder-unrelated entities using the UTI brand.” The bank has communicated the name change through internet, ATMs, et al and TV commercials that show two cute twin sisters stating, “Everything is the same except the name.” Explains Sarika P. Lohra, Banking Analyst, Angel Broking, “This is a positive move and will give the bank a global appeal and international presence that they were looking for.” For information, in 2006, Indian banks have really tapped international markets. With a presence in 21 countries, Bank of Baroda’s international business grew at 70%; ICICI Bank’s NRI remittances hit a record high of $5 billion. Let’s hope the name change helps UTI achieve similar targets. What did you say? Axis?

For Complete
IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)

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