| Dhanalakshmi to seek fresh capital by March | |
| Newswire18 / Kochi December 23, 2008, 0:35 IST | |
Dhanalakshmi Bank plans to go for fresh capital infusion from qualified institutional investors by March 31, said Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Amitabh Chaturvedi On Monday.
Chaturvedi, however, declined to specify date or amount planned to be raised by the bank.
“It is too early to comment on these aspects but we will go for fresh capital before March 31,” he said.
Thrissur-based Dhanalakshmi Bank’s current net worth is Rs 410 crore, he said.
“The bank’s capital adequacy ratio at 15.56 per cent is well above Reserve Bank of India’s mandatory requirement of 9 per cent, but we need to prepare for future growth by infusing more capital,” he said.
The bank’s board also approved a proposal to open 68 new branches across the country, said Chaturvedi, who took charge two months ago.
“We will approach the RBI for permission to open new branches in two to three days and hope to open the branches within six months after getting RBI clearance,” he said.
At present, Dhanalakshmi has 181 branches and out of this 121 are located in Kerala.
Around 80 per cent of the proposed new branches will be located outside the state, Chaturvedi said.
The bank also plans to increase its fee-based income to at least 30 per cent of its total income by end of 2010 financial year, he said.
At present, the bank’s fee-based income is mainly from distributing life and non-life insurance instruments, he said.
The bank also plans to recruit 500-700 people in all cadres soon to cater its growth plans, he said. The bank has around 1,400 persons on its rolls at present.
“Our objective is to emerge as one of the top five to 10 private banks in the country in next five to six years,” Chaturvedi said.
Dhanalakshmi Bank had a total business of Rs 5,772 crore during 2007-08 (Apr-Mar) with net profit of around Rs 28 crore.
In the first six months of 2008-09, total business of the bank topped the whole of last year to Rs 6,485 crore with a net profit of around Rs 18 crore.
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