SBI, other PSBs yet to raise funds of Rs 22,257 cr from markets

These public sector banks were granted permission to raise funds in December 2014

Several public sector banks including State Bank of India are yet to raise funds totalling over Rs 22,000 crore from markets, for which they were granted permission by the government way back in December 2014.

The total amount of funds yet to be raised by the state-run banks to shore up their capital requirements stands at Rs 22,257 crore, Finance Ministry said in reply to a Parliament question on Friday.

The Ministry did not mention the cut-off date.

Among the larger banks, SBI was granted permission in 2014 to raise Rs 15,000 crore from the markets. The bank, however, is yet to raise this capital.

The other lenders sitting on the permission include IDBI Bank, United Bank of India, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India and Vijaya Bank.

IDBI Bank was to raise an amount of Rs 3,771 crore, while the amount for Union Bank is Rs 1,386 crore. For Oriental Bank of Commerce, the figure stands at Rs 1,000 crore, for Vijaya Bank it is Rs 600 crore and United Bank is yet to raise Rs 500 crore.

In December 2014, the Finance Ministry had permitted public sector banks to raise capital from markets.

PSBs require Rs three lakh crore capital infusion to augment their resources. Besides, they require equity capital of Rs 2.4 lakh crore by 2018 to meet Basel III capital adequacy norms.

The banks can raised funds through follow-on-public offer (FPO) or qualified institutional placement (QIP) by diluting government holding up to 52 per cent in a phased manner.

The dilution of government shareholding in these banks is to be based on the capital requirement of the banks, their stock performance, liquidity as well as market conditions.

The banks that have raised funds from markets since then include Bank of India (Rs 642 crore), Central Bank (Rs 626.23 crore), Corporation Bank (Rs 143 crore) and Syndicate Bank (Rs 216.94 crore).

The dilution of stake through market intervention will also bring down government's shareholding in the banks.

As per law, the government holding at any moment must not come below 51 per cent to maintain the public sector character of PSU banks.