Allahabad Bank seeks to raise Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal

KOLKATA: Public sector Allahabad Bank today obtained shareholders' nod in to raise equity capital aggregating up to Rs 2,000 crore through different modes like QIP, FPO or a rights issue.

MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank Usha Ananthasubramanian told shareholders at the AGM here that the bank was fairly placed given the business growth and the environment we are operating. "But I would not say, we are very comfortable. We need to raise capital".

Allahabad Bank was looking to achieve a business growth of 12.23 per cent in the current financial year.

"The bank is looking to achieve a year-on-year business growth of 12.23 per cent and reach a level of Rs 4.05 lakh crore by the end of 2017-18," she said.

"We are looking at a growth of 13.45 per cent and 10.68 per cent in deposits and credit respectively", she said.

The bank would primarily focus on CASA deposits and would continue to discourage reliance on high-cost deposits.

The lender has also targeted aggressive recovery of dues from the borrowers in the current fiscal and it is exploring new and innovative ways.