Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Oct 08, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Oct 08, 2004 |
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Money & Banking
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Public Sector Banks Allahabad Bank on look-out for alliances Our Bureau
Mr O.N. Singh, CMD, Allahabad Bank (right), with Mr Santanu Mukherjee, Country Manager-South Asia, Visa International, at the launch of global debit-cum-ATM card in Mumbai on Thursday. — Paul Noronha
Mumbai , Oct. 7 THE Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank is looking for geographical, structural and business synergies in order to forge alliances with other banks. Mr O.N. Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Allahabad Bank, said, that the bank is in the lookout for another public sector bank with a strong presence in Western and Southern India. However, he declined to use the words `consolidation' or `acquisition'. "We should have a clearer picture about where we are headed in the next 2 months," he said, speaking on the sidelines of a function to launch international debit-ATM card with Visa cards. The bank plans to issue over a lakh cards in the first year itself to its savings bank and current account holders. Commenting on the area of synergies, Mr Singh said that the combining of operations could happen for various business segments such as non-banking finance segment where it has a subsidiary — AllBank Finance Ltd. Allahabad Bank plans to come out with an initial public offer by January next year to raise around Rs 100 crore. At present, the Government holding in the bank is to the tune of 71 per cent, which is expected to come down to 60 per cent post-IPO, Mr Singh said. "We will shortly be going to our Board with a definite proposal. The capital is needed for asset expansion. These shares would be issued at premium and the process of selecting merchant bankers for the issue will commence after board approval," he said. The expanded equity base would also help strengthen the capital adequacy ratio, which currently stands at 12 per cent, he added. Meanwhile, towards its international initiatives, the bank plans to set up a joint venture subsidiary in Kazaksthan, along with Punjab National Bank. Plans are also underway to set up representative offices in Hong Kong and China.
More Stories on : Public Sector Banks | Credit Cards & Debit Cards
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