Punjab & Sindh Bank this quarter through QIP Rs. 2,000 crore to raise: MD and CEO Swaroop Kumar Saha

State-owned Punjab and Sindh Bank during the current quarter through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) raised Rs. 2,000 crore, a top bank official said. Swarup Kumar Saha, Managing Director and CEO of Punjab and Sindh Bank told PTI that the bank has appointed merchant bankers and legal advisors for the proposed QIP.

“With the QIP, the government’s holding in the bank will come down by 3-4 per cent and the capital adequacy ratio will increase at the end of March 2025,” he said.

The Government of India holds 98.25 per cent stake in Punjab and Sindh Bank at the end of December 2024, he said.

The government has extended the deadline for meeting the minimum public shareholding norms for central public sector enterprises and public sector financial institutions till August 2026.

Five of the 12 public sector banks (PSBs) are yet to comply with the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms and the government’s holding is over 75 per cent.

According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), all listed companies must maintain an MPS of 25 percent.

The bank’s board has already allocated Rs. 10,000 crore has been approved for capital raising, of which Rs. 5,000 crore as infrastructure bonds, Rs. 2,000 crore as QIP and the remaining Rs. 3,000 crore included in the current financial year as Tier-1 or Tier-II bonds.

Last month, the bank issued the first infrastructure bonds of Rs. 3,000 crore was collected.

During the third quarter ended December 2024, Punjab & Sindh Bank reported a more than two-fold jump in its net profit in the December 2024 quarter as bad loans fell.

In the same quarter a year ago, the bank posted Rs. 114 crore net profit was earned.

During the quarter under review the total income of the bank increased to Rs. 3,269 crores, which is Rs. 2,853 crore, Punjab and Sindh Bank said in a regulatory filing.

On the asset quality front, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) have come down to 3.83 per cent by the end of December 2024, from 5.70 per cent a year ago.

Similarly, net NPAs or bad loans have come down to 1.25 percent from 1.80 percent at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal.