Centurion Bank ropes in Morgan for rights issue

Centurion Bank has roped in Morgan Stanley as merchant banker for its proposed Rs 65 crore rights or public issue for its second phase of capital infusion.

It has also firmed up plans for entering the home as well as mortgage loans in the next one year. This which will be followed by a credit card launch sometime next year.

As part of its strategy to increase business volumes, the bank has finalised plans of enhancing its branch network by 200 in the next 12-18 months at all growth centres in the country. Centurion Bank, at present, has around 90 branches including a few extension counters and asset financing outlets.

The rights or the public issue in the second phase is part of its capital infusion exercise where a total of Rs 219 crore would be injected in two stages.

In the first stage, Rs 154 crore will be contributed by Sabre, a group of investors brought in by Sabre, Bank Muscat- its Bangalore branch is to be merged with Centurion Bank and the existing institutional investors namely, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Kephinance Investments (Mauritius) Pvt Ltd.

Meanwhile, it has worked out a new roadmap for growth and expansion in which the eastern region will be accorded top priority.

"We have outlined an exclusive area-specific game plan for expansion in the eastern region with as many as 20 new branches in almost all growth centres in the region in the next six months. This will include an aggressive foray into semi-rural areas and B category cities to expand the bank's footprint. We will also introduce a slew of products and services in semi-rural areas and smaller cities and suburban areas that will mark a paradigm shift in banking experience," explained Jayanta Gupta, regional head, east, of the bank.

"Centurion Bank will roll out its state-of-the-art virtual banking services that will introduce concepts like 'anywhere banking' in these areas," he added.

Currently, Centurion Bank is working out a massive restructuring exercise that will see a major brand enhancement drive coupled with organic growth across the country in the coming days."Our area-specific game plan is based on the high potential growth areas," Gupta said.