A clutch of domestic and foreign funds, including Wellington Management Company and HSBC together, have picked up close to 27% stake in the Mangalore-based Karnataka Bank.
Karnataka Bank is one among the half a dozen old generation private banks based out of south India which does not have any domestic or foreign promoters.
According to information available with FE, as of the quarter ending March this year, Wellington Management, with its 5.78% stake has become the single largest shareholder in Karnataka Bank. HSBC Financial Services Middle East is the second top shareholder in Karnataka Bank with a 4.46% stake. Domestic insurer from the Birla stables Birla Sunlife Insurance Company comes third with 2.76% stake closely followed by Religare Finvest with a 2.59% stake. Kotak Mahindra Investment holds 2.49% stake while mutual fund major Franklin Templeton holds 2.17% stake.
Other major funds which had invested in Karnataka Bank through the last quarter, include Macquarie Bank (1.93%), Morgan Stanley Mauritius Company (1.89%) Fem Healthcare (1.41%) and SBI Mutual Fund promoted by State Bank of India (1.07%).
Notably, public sector insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India had paired its stake in Karnataka Bank significantly to 2.68% as of the quarter ending March this year from 9.79% it was holding during the previous quarter.
Other funds which had cashed out their investment in Karnataka Bank, include Genesis Indian Investment Company, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), Aberdeen Asset Managers, Capital World Growth and Investment Fund and the Growth Fund of America.
As of the quarter ending December last, the bank had clocked a total income of R668.45 crore and a net profit of R38.59 crore.
The bank has a bad debt totaling R191.22 crore. The bank has a sizable presence in both wholesale and retail lending with revenue from corporate lending topping R257 crore and retail lending touching R210 crore. The R10 face value stock is trading at R107-108 levels. The stock has a yearly high of R209.25 and an yearly low of 98.30.