BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian private lender RBL Bank said on Thursday it will raise up to 65 billion rupees ($779 million) through a combination of qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares and debt sale.
The bank will raise 35 billion rupees through QIP and 30 billion rupees through issue of debt securities via private placement, according to an exchange filing.
This will be RBL’s first share issue via institutional placement since 2021 when the bank saw an abrupt management transition and the central bank increased scrutiny of the lender by temporarily appointing a director on its board amid reports of a large share of unsecured borrowing on its books.
The fundraising comes at a time when the lender targets 20%growth in its loan book over the next two financial years, largely led by an increase in secured retail assets. RBL, however, did not mention how it would deploy the proceeds of the latest capital raise.
Indian banks have been shoring up their capital base to keep up with the rising demand for loans. Lenders including Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India have approved raising funds in recent months
During fiscal 2024, RBL Bank reported a 20% growth in advances while its deposits grew 22%.
The lender’s shares ended 2.1% higher ahead of the fundraise announcement.
($1 = 83.4240 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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