Exim Bank to raise Rs27,000 crore this fiscal

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) is planning to raise Rs25,000 crore to Rs27,000 crore in the current fiscal to maintain its topline growth, which includes domestic as well as international fundraising.

“In fiscal 2011 our topline growth was 17%. Depending on the macroeconomic environment it will be in the range of 17% to 20% in fiscal 2012. If topline is going to grow about 17-20% then we will need close to Rs25,000 crore to 27,000 crore this fiscal,” TCA Ranganathan, chairman and managing director, Exim Bank, told DNA. 

The bank raised borrowings of varying maturities aggregating to Rs26,095 crore in fiscal 2011.

Loan assets increased 17% to Rs46,041 crore in fiscal 2011 while net profit grew 13.84% to Rs584 crore.

The bank had received capital infusion of Rs300 crore from the government during the last fiscal.

Ranganathan said this year too they were looking forward to Rs300 crore or more.

Exim Bank has been providing financial assistance to exporters very actively.

“We do not want to do plain vanilla work which commercial banks are doing. We want to promote products and services that are different from what other banks are doing, so that it helps in improving the quality, direction and depth of Indian exports,” said Ranganathan.

But despite this, Ranganathan feels sizeable exports have not been tapped and steps were needed in that direction.

“You have to encourage manufacturing and number of areas where manufacturing is not taking place. There is also a need to increase information systems about the potential for exports. We need to get new markets for our exporters,” he said.

Ranganathan feels the Reserve Bank of India may raise key policy rates again as “inflation is a big problem”. But Exim Bank may not be impacted by the rate hike.

“I am a wholesale bank. I borrow with one hand and lend with the other. We do not keep surplus funds. We pass on everything. We are trying to focus more on things which are not price sensitive. That is R&D financing programme, overseas investment finance and overseas contracts. Those are all foreign currency denominated. They are not rupee based,” said Ranganathan.