Karnataka Bank plans to raise Rs 6,000 crore via debt this fiscal

Karnataka Bank plans to raise up to Rs 6,000 crore debt capital during the current financial year, and it will seek shareholders' approval in the ensuing AGM next month.

Besides, the private sector lender has also planned to raise equity capital by issuing 15 crore shares through a qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Its annual general meeting (AGM) is scheduled for September 2.

On the debt raise plan, it said that in the normal course of business, a bank borrows money to meet its business requirements through various means and to meet its capital requirements.

Accordingly, it is proposed to obtain consent of the members of the bank for borrowing funds in Indian/foreign currency up to Rs 6,000 crore in the form of debt instruments, in one or more tranches, Karnataka Bank said in its annual report 2020-21.

On the QIP plan, approval of the members will be sought to create and offer, for cash at such price that the "total number of fully paid-up equity shares to be issued shall not exceed 150,000,000 (150 million) equity shares, to be subscribed by QIBs," it said.

The equity shares are to be offered in one or more tranches.

"The board, at various intervals, has felt the need for onboarding institutional investors. In this direction, the bank has started strategising initiatives.

"Besides, maintaining sufficient capital adequacy ratio improves the bank's risk appetite given the COVID-19 pandemic-led economic uncertainties," it said.

In view of these, the board of directors thought fit to seek approval of the shareholders for augmenting capital through QIP, it said.

The private sector lender posted a net profit of Rs 482.57 crore in FY21, up by nearly 12 per cent from a year ago. However, the total income was down marginally at Rs 7,727 crore.