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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 05:45 AM IST
Amid the reports of gloom and doom coming from the banking sector, there's a piece of good news and it matters.
Even as public sector behemoth Punjab National Bank (PNB) stares at the erosion of its future credibility and present profitability due to the Nirav-Choksi scam, and private sector banks like ICICI Bank temporarily staying away from lending to gem and jewellery sector, Bandhan Bank is seeing encouraging response to its initial public offering (IPO).
On Wednesday evening, the newest kid on the banking block was able to attract a good 65 anchor investors ranging from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to Neuberger Berman, Nomura Fund, HDFC Standard Life, Birla Sun Life, Citigroup, Aberdeen, SBI Life and Kotak Mahindra.
The placement, ahead of fresh issue worth Rs 3,662 crore and offer for sale of Rs 811 crore, helped the Kolkata headquartered bank raise Rs 1,342 crore. And on the first day of issue, about 40% was subscribed.
The experiment of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in giving a new out of box experience to the banking sector by giving a microfinance entity full banking license, it now appears to have turned successful.
As PNB lost more than Rs 10,000 crore lending to a single jeweller, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh has been giving Rs 500 to Rs 1 lakh loans to tiny village enterprises grow bigger and self-sustaining.
With that came employment, social upliftment and stoppage of migration to cities. Bandhan is now set to enrich urban and global investors as well.
May we have many more such Bandhan Banks amongst us.
