BoB not to tap medium term note prog as liquidity comfortable

Says will tap international market when situation is stable

Second largest public sector lender Bank of Baroda has said it is not looking at raising money from overseas markets via medium-term note programme as the liquidity situation for its international operations remains comfortable.

"Internationally, we have comfortable liquidity. Since we have good deposit franchise, the pressure for raising money through the MTN route either for fresh lending or refinance existing lending, is not very great," Bank of Baroda Chairman and Managing Director SS Mundra said.

The bank will tap the international market when the market situation is stable, he said.

MTN is a debt offering through which a company raises funds.

On the impact of the recent RBI liquidity tightening measures on the bank, Mundra said the overall liquidity situation for the bank remains comfortable, adding that it will not raise the short-term lending rates as of now.

However, the bank will take a call depending on the evolving situation, he maintained.

Bank of Baroda, which has shed around Rs 22,000 crore of high cost deposits in the first quarter, expects to see margin improvement going ahead.

Mundra said domestic NIM (Net Interest Margin) would be around 3% by the end of the fiscal with shedding more high cost deposits and replacing them with low cost liabilities.

The bank has reported a flattish 2.55% growth in its net profit at Rs 1,167.87 crore in the June quarter even as it saw a rise in other income. Total income rose 14.9% to Rs 10,718 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 9,328 crore reported in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.