Corporation Bank was one of the six private banks to be nationalized in second round of nationalization in 1980. Headquartered at Mangalore in Karnataka, it is one of the fastest growing PSU banks. It has two subsidiaries, namely Corpbank Securities Ltd. and Corpbank Homes Ltd. The bank`s branch network comprises of 777 branches and 801 ATMs as of March 31, 2005. Corporation Bank is one of the 10 PSU banks to have been granted operational freedom. The bank was also one of the first to commence gold trading, when they opened for banks in FY98. The bank came out with its first public offer (IPO) in October 1997. CRISIL has given a AAA rating to Corporation Bank`s Rs 3 billion bond issue. The ratings are supported by the bank`s status as a Government-owned bank and its strategic alliance with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Although Corporation Bank`s profitability levels continue to be high, an increase in technology related costs incurred for the purpose of building future capacity has affected its net profitability margin in the past. The bank is also faced with some element of geographical concentration and moderate size of net worth in relation to big public sector banks.