Allahabad Bank May Put Off Ipo

"The problem is that bank stocks are going through a very bad phase. It is possible that we may even put off the IPO to next year. With the IPO, the government shareholding in the bank will go down 25 per cent. Our capital adequacy ratio at 11.38 per cent is comfortable so we don't really need an additional equity," sources said.

"However, one of the pre-conditions for the World Bank loan was that the bank should have some public shareholding, so we will have to go in for an IPO," the sources said.

The bank had recently got a Rs 60-crore loan from the World Bank to upgrade its technology, in terms of hardware and software, and to set up training centres for its staff.

The bank has also launched its Internet banking facility -- ALLNET -- for its corporate clients. The facility will be available with the four specialised industrial finance branches in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Secunderabad Samal said. The four branches would be networked, he said.

The bank, which currently has 12 ATMs, is planning 30 more by March next year. Samal said that already 45 per cent of the branches had been computerised and 25 per cent were set to follow suit within six months.