Syndicate Bank awaits RBI nod for Dubai, SA offices

Syndicate Bank is awaiting the Reserve Bank of India's approval for setting up representative offices in Dubai and South Africa. Currently, the Karnataka-based bank has a single branch overseas in London.

Syndicate Bank is set to issue five crore equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each through a second public offering. The 100 per cent book-built issue will open on July 7 and close on July 13.

The price band will be announced a few days before the issue opens. The bank's share price fell by 0.09 per cent on the BSE today to close at Rs 55.15.

The funds will go towards raising the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the bank in to enable it to comply with Basel-II norms and asset growth.

The bank's CAR was at 10.70 per cent. N Kantha Kumar, chairman & managing director, said, "We cannot say how much the CAR will rise. It depends on the price band we fix." Earlier this month the bank raised Rs 500 crore through tier-II bonds at an interest rate of 7.4 per cent for 118 months.

In the pipeline, is a business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary and a venture capital fund aimed at the rural sector. RBI has given its nod to the venture capital fund, while the BPO proposal is pending.

Through its BPO, the bank plans to undertake work even third-party work. The proposed authorised capital of the subsidiary is Rs 10 crore.

"We plan to use the excess staff in our bank for the BPO. We also have plenty of office space both in Manipal and in Bangalore," said Kantha Kumar.