Bank of Baroda has undertaken an exercise to asses the market value of its Vadodara-based headquarters Baroda House, fuelling the speculation that the premises could be put either on sale or given on a long lease by the bank in the immediate future. And this could be to supplement the capital of the bank as most of the operations are carried out of Mumbai?s sprawling Bandra Kurla Complex.
Bank of Baroda, on Tuesday, released an advertisement in a local daily in Gujarat asking for the lease bids. However, the move is reported to have met a strong opposition from the bank?s shareholders as well as the residents of Vadodara due to emotional reasons.
When contacted by FE, Bank of Baroda chairman MD Mallya said, ?It?s true that we released such an advert in the local daily On Tuesday. However, it was merely to asses the fair market value of a premise owned by us near Baroda House. It seems people have misinterpreted our advertisement and we have no intention to sell or lease either Baroda House or our premises nearby.?
A senior Bank of Baroda executive, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the entire exercise was a part of a future plan to liquidate or lease Baroda House in future and was in-fact aimed at assessing the current market value of the building.
Baroda House, a 5-storey sprawling mansion in heart of Vadodara city, was built in 1973 on the land sold at Re 1 by former ruler of Vadodara state, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad. The basement of Baroda House houses ?Currency Chest?.