Punjab & Sind Bank shares advance nearly 5%; hits the upper circuit

Shares of Punjab & Sind Bank advanced nearly 5 per cent in morning trade on Wednesday after the bank said it will allot shares worth Rs 5,500 crore to the government in lieu of capital infusion.

After opening in the green territory, the bank's shares rose 4.98 per cent to hit the upper circuit limit at Rs 17.48 a piece on the BSE.

The scrip hit its upper trading limit on the NSE as well, with a gain of 4.80 per cent at Rs 17.45.

An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the shareholders of the bank is scheduled on March 25, 2021 for preferential issue of equity shares to the government up to Rs 5,500 crore, the bank said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The EGM, the bank said, will take place through video conferencing and other audio visual means for passing the resolution for issuing shares to the government.

In September, the government had approved a Rs 20,000 crore fund as part of the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2020-21, for capital infusion into public sector banks (PSBs).

Of this, Rs 5,500 crore was approved to be infused into Punjab & Sind Bank.