The stock, which is to be listed at the Bombay Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange and Calcutta Stock Exchange, should provide a very attractive exit opportunity for investors. The bank, which had managed an oversubscription of around 6 times and collected around Rs 210 crore from the public, is listing on the bourses at a time when the stock market is bullish. This will help the bank command a good premium on listing.

TimesBank IPO had generated much interest in the market as the bank shelved its earlier plan to charge a premium on the issue and the bank finally offered the shares at par. This was the second banking IPO at par after HDFC Bank's. Although other private sector banks like Jammu & Kashmir Bank, City Union Bank, UTI Bank, IDBI Bank and South Indian Bank are yet toprovide any exit opportunity to investors, retail response to the IPO was overwhelming. Also, the investors have suffered capital erosion in the public sector banks like State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore and Dena Bank.

TimesBank had offered 3.5 crore shares at Rs 10 to the public and of this, 12.5 lakh shares were reserved for its employees and working directors. The public holding in the bank will be 25.93 per cent of the total paid up capital of Rs 135 crore. Promoters of the bank have now reduced their stake to 66.81 per cent and they will have to reduce it further to 40 per cent in order to comply with the RBI licensing requirements. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 27.05 crore on total income of Rs 286.39 crore for fiscal 1999. For the current fiscal, the bank projects a 38.82 per cent jump in total income to Rs 397.57 crore. Net profit is projected to grow by 76.16 per cent to Rs 38.82 crore. The bank is expected to provide Rs 28.21 crore as provisions and contingenciesfor the current fiscal. Lead managed by JM Morgan Stanley Ltd, the Rs 35-crore IPO had opened on June 30 and closed on July 10.