No plan to defer IPO by 3 years: Bandhan Bank

Reports earlier said that Bandhan Bank would seek permission to defer IPO by three years

The Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank is planning to come out with an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018 after it completes three  years of operations and not six years as it was thinking earlier.

There were reports earlier that Bandhan Bank would approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow it to come out with an IPO in six years against stipulated three years on the lines of those given licence on tap.  

However, Bandhan Bank founder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said, “We personally thought about it (postponing IPO for three years). We thought whether we can get an opportunity to come out with an IPO in six years on a par with those receiving licence on tap. But, now we are planning to come out with it in three years by 2018.”

He said the bank has not approached RBI for allowing it to defer IPO by three years. Earlier, Ghosh had said he was not very comfortable listing the entity within the stipulated three years.

“If given an option, we would like to delay the IPO. The call (for floating an IPO) will come depending on the business growth,” he had said.

On competition from entry of new small and payments banks, Ghosh said there is a big enough space for everyone.

“When I started the bank, our advisors told us that in the first one year we can get the highest deposit of Rs 3,500 crore. But we got Rs 12,000 crore of deposits in the first seven months,” he pointed out.

Bandhan began banking operations in August 2015 following its transformation from a microfinance entity to a bank. It mobilised deposits to the tune of nearly Rs 12,089 crore in the first seven months.

While major players, particularly public sector banks are reeling under huge non-performing assets, Bandhan Bank’s gross bad debt was at 0.15 per cent and net NPA at just 0.08 per cent.