Idbi Bank Lines Up Retail Thrust, Mulls Stake Dilution
"The focus is on newer services. For instance, the bank will launch smart card in Mumbai soon," the former State Bank of India chairman said.
The bank is also planning a second round of capital issue to dilute promoter's stake "as soon as the market is conducive for the issue." At present, parent IDBI holds 71.43 per cent, which should come down to 40 per cent in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India guidelines. "We are not planning any private placement with a strategic overseas partner. The public is the best partner," said Verma.
To steer the bank through the new business thrust areas, Gunit Chadha, a Citibanker in New York, took over as managing director yesterday.
Chadha replaces Deepak Mukherjee, who stepped down last month.
"With the change in baton, you can expect a lot of fireworks," Verma said. Unperturbed by the growth posted by some of its peers, Verma said the race has just begun and IDBI Bank will take on competition by virtue of quality products and right pricing.
"Last year we had posted 98 per cent growth in net profit, while the assets grew by 50 per cent. We will continue with this trend," said Verma, a former State Bank of India, chairman, and who also heads the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). "Our USP will be quality and pricing," he said.
Chadha, who had been with Corporate & Investment Bank in New York since 1997, said: "This is a big challenge. We will provide superior financial solutions to the customers. Over the next two years the IDBI Bank will emerge as the leading e-commerce enabler in the country."
Chadha joined Citibank in 1984 and after 13 years of sub-continent experience he moved to New York where he was a senior member of the corporate finance and structured products group.
On the possibility of exploiting the business synergy with parent IDBI, Verma said the bank has a very focused approach. "In the age of Internet, we have gone ahead of universal banking. Now, we are talking in terms of super-focused approach. We will go retail all the way."