YES Bank set to raise up to $500 mn in FY12

Private lender YES Bank on Wednesday said it planned to raise equity of up to $500 million in one or more tranches in the current financial year. The funds would be raised either through global depository receipts, American depository receipts or qualified institutional placements.

“The first half of this financial year may be somewhat early. We would target capital raising in the second half of this financial year,” said Rana Kapoor, founder, managing director and chief executive officer, YES Bank. The funds would be used to finance growth in the bank’s assets in the coming years.

Earlier on Wednesday, YES Bank reported net profit of Rs 203.4 crore for the quarter ended March, a rise of 45 per cent over the net profit of Rs 140 crore in the year-ago period. The growth in earnings was aided by higher interest income and a stable net interest margin.

Net interest income (the difference between interest income and expended interest) stood at Rs 348.5 crore, an increase of 42.7 per cent over the year-ago period. The net interest margin in the fourth quarter was 2.8 per cent.

“The quarterly profit crossed Rs 200 crore for the first time in the bank’s history. This was achieved through a robust growth in advances and a steady net interest margin, and came against the backdrop of rising interest rates and stable non-interest income streams,” Kapoor said.

The bank’s advances rose to Rs 34,363.6 crore, a 54.8 per cent rise compared to a year ago, while deposits increased 71.4 per cent to Rs 45,938.9 crore. The share of low-cost current account savings account deposits stood at 10.3 per cent. Gross non-performing asset ratio was 0.23 per cent, while net bad loan ratio for the quarter stood at 0.03 per cent.

Kapoor said the bank’s plans of introducing a retail broking arm later this year would help in mobilising low-cost deposits.