Corporation Bank to get Rs 857 cr capitalisation by September

Mangalore-based Corporation Bank expects to get a capital infusion of Rs 857 crore by the government by September this year. After the recapitalization, the bank's capital adequacy ratio will cross 12%, against about 11.28% at the end of the quarter ended June 2015.

The bank was eying a credit and deposit growth of around 12% this financial year, said S R Bansal, chairman and managing director, Corporation Bank, on the sidelines of FICCI Banking Conclave here today.

This apart, the bank will roll out the latest version of core banking solution (CBS) by December 2015 on a pilot basis. By the end of this financial year, it expects to cover all its 2350 branches under the latest version of CBS. The up gradation will cost the bank around Rs 360 crore.

Also, the bank plans to start new forex hubs in Bengaluru and Mumbai, which will be connected to all its urban branches by December this year. The bank planned to have similar hubs in Kolkata, Ahemdabad and Delhi, said Bansal.

The bank is also rebalancing its business strategy, whereby it is shedding bulk deposits and shifting focus to retail loans and CASA deposits. This apart, the bank is aggressive to lending to the agriculture sector, as it plans to reduce its exposure to Rural infrastructure development fund (RIDF). Banks need to invest in low interest deposits at RIDF to the extent of the shortfall of their priority sector lending target. At present, the bank has an exposure of more than Rs 10,000 crore at RIDF. The bank expects to bring down the exposure by at least Rs 2000 crore this year. By the next financial, the bank would seek to meet the priority sector lending targets so that it does not need to invest in RIDF, said Bansal.