Kolkata-based United Bank of India is looking at raising Rs 300-400 crore through an initial public offering by December this year after it mopped up Rs 400 crore via certificates of deposits (CDs) earlier this month.
The bank?s chairman and managing director SC Gupta said, ?We are in the process of reducing our equity capital. Once this is done, we will have our audited accounts on September 30 with this capital and after this we will go for an IPO in December.?
?We received the government approval for capital restructuring in March. Once the capital base is reduced, our book value will jump from Rs 14 to Rs 94 and we will then tap the market,? he said.
The bank has planned to return Rs 1,266 crore to the government as capital receipts out of the paid-up capital of Rs 1,532 crore.
According to him, the capital level of the bank is comfortable.
UBI is also expecting to receive Rs 550 crore as perpetual non-cumulative preference shares, Gupta said at the banking conclave organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (Ficci). The bank is looking at lowering its benchmark lending rate by 25-50 basis points, from 12.25% at present in a week?s time. ?We are working on the extent of the cut, but it should be something between 25 to 50 basis points and subsequently the deposit rates would also come down,? he said.