Indian Bank to raise Rs 4,000 cr during current fiscal

CHENNAI: The board of the public sector Indian Bank has given its consent to raise Rs 4,000 crore through Qualified Institutional Placements during the current financial year, a top official said on Thursday.

The Chennai-headquartered bank reported a 62 per cent growth in its net profit at Rs 1,988 crore for the July-September 2023 quarter from Rs 1,225 crore registered during the corresponding quarter of last year.

"The Board has approved Rs 4,000 crore fund raising through QIP. We will approach the market at the appropriate time during the current financial year," the bank's Managing Director and CEO Shanti Lal Jain told PTI.

Asked whether the bank may raise during the October-December 2023 quarter itself, he said, "Anytime from today to March 2024." For the six month period ending September 30, 2023 the net profit grew by 52 per cent to Rs 3,697 crore from Rs 2,439 crore registered in the same period of last year.

The total business of the bank as of September 2023 quarter grew by 10 per cent to Rs 11,33,091 crore from Rs 10,26,801 crore registered during the corresponding quarter of last year.

Advances as of September 2023 increased to Rs 4,92,288 crore from Rs 4,37,941 crore registered in the same period of last year.

The retail, agriculture, and micro, small and medium enterprises advances grew by 12 per cent to Rs 2,85,891 crore in September 2023 from Rs 2,55,256 crore recorded in the September 2022 period.

To a query, he said the bank was targeting 10-12 per cent credit growth during the current financial year with major thrust on retail, agriculture and MSME sectors.

"Embracing digital banking as our core focus, we are dedicated to fostering financial growth and prosperity for individuals and businesses across diverse sectors of society", the bank said in a statement.

The bank has 5,819 domestic branches including three digital banking units, the statement added.