 "Will cover Punjab and Chandigarh in 1st yr: Sarvjit Singh Samra")
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Would you be able to work as a bank in the shortest possible time?
Yes. With 39 active branches in five districts of Punjab, it should be possible for us to start the operations in April as a small finance bank, though the central bank has granted 18 months.
The Local Area Bank is already in the midst of opening 10 branches.
The bank will need to back operations with additional infusion of capital? What are the plans to raise capital and would you tap public and private equity (PE) investors?
The bank will approach existing shareholders (about 1,000) with a rights issue to raise Rs 18 crore. This will increase our capital base to Rs 120-125 crore. We do not intend to float a public offering nor tap PEs.
The bank will need to expand the team to scale up operations. What are the hiring plans?
The bank is already being run by a team of 600 bankers and the human resource strength will cross 1,000 in the first year of activity.
How will you meet the stringent norms for priority sector and cap single borrower exposure?
Being entrenched in semi-urban and rural areas, we will be in position to meet all requirements.
Yes. With 39 active branches in five districts of Punjab, it should be possible for us to start the operations in April as a small finance bank, though the central bank has granted 18 months.
The Local Area Bank is already in the midst of opening 10 branches.
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We will cover Punjab and the Union territory of Chandigarh in the first year of operations. In the next phase, plans are afoot to enter Haryana and a part of Rajasthan.
The bank will need to back operations with additional infusion of capital? What are the plans to raise capital and would you tap public and private equity (PE) investors?
The bank will approach existing shareholders (about 1,000) with a rights issue to raise Rs 18 crore. This will increase our capital base to Rs 120-125 crore. We do not intend to float a public offering nor tap PEs.
The bank will need to expand the team to scale up operations. What are the hiring plans?
The bank is already being run by a team of 600 bankers and the human resource strength will cross 1,000 in the first year of activity.
How will you meet the stringent norms for priority sector and cap single borrower exposure?
Being entrenched in semi-urban and rural areas, we will be in position to meet all requirements.
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