Punjab National Bank plans to raise Rs 7,000 crore via QIP

New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday said it is planning to raise Rs 7,000 crore through share sale next month to shore up its capital base for meeting business plan. The country's second largest state-owned lender expects the credit growth to pick up slightly in the second half but it would be less than 5 per cent for the entire fiscal. The bank has already taken approval from the board for raising Rs 14,000 crore by way of Tier II, Additional Tier 1 (AT-1) bonds and QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement), PNB Managing Director S SMallikarjuna Rao said in a virtual interaction with the media.

"Of this, Rs 4,000 crore is for Tier II. Against this, we have raised Rs 2,500 crore and remaining Rs 1,500 crore and additional Rs 3,000 crore from AT-1 bonds will be raised before November 30. With respect to QIP of Rs 7,000 crore, we are planning to go to the market in the second or third week of December. It would depend on the book running lead manager (BRLM) and roadshows," he said. With this fund mobilisation, capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio, which was at 12.8 per cent at the end of September 2020 quarter, would go up to 13.5-14 percent.

"With respect to unlocking value in subsidiaries, as on today we don't have any plan. We will be looking that proposal in future if anything is required. We are adequately capitalised," he said.