Bank of Baroda seeks to sell unit Nainital Bank to bolster capital

Nainital Bank has about 135 branches spread across five states in the country

Bank of Baroda (BoB), India's third-largest state-run lender, is seeking to sell unit Nainital Bank as it sheds non-core assets to bolster its balance sheet, people familiar with the matter said.

A decision on the size of the stake to be sold will depend on approvals from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. BoB holds 98.6 per cent stake in the 96-year-old Nainital Bank, which had assets of about Rs 77 billion ($1.2 billion) as of March end, information available on the lender's website shows.

Deliberations regarding the