Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Bandhan Bank says will submit stake reduction plan soon

- Shayan Ghosh shayan.g@livemint.com

MUMBAI : Bandhan Bank will soon submit its plan to bring down its promoter holding to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) directions, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, said on Wednesday.

“The option available to us is an offer for sale (OFS), where the non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC) dilutes; do a merger and acquisitio­n and depending upon business requiremen­t, we can look at primary or secondary fund raising. These are the three options available and we will evaluate.” Ghosh said.

Asked about the bank’s progress in bringing down the promoter shareholdi­ng to 40%, Ghosh said the bank is “continuous­ly engaging with the RBI and have a plan which we will submit to the RBI”.

“The issue has come up just a few days back and I will request you to give us some more time,” he said.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had barred Bandhan Bank from opening new branches without its approval and had ordered it to freeze Ghosh’s salary over its failure to meet shareholdi­ng rules.

“RBI has communicat­ed to us that since the bank was not able to bring down the shareholdi­ng of non operative financial holding company to 40%, as required under the licensing condition, general permission to open new branches stands withdrawn and the bank can open branches with prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the remunerati­on of the managing director and CEO of the bank stands frozen at the existing level, till further notice,” the bank had said in a notificati­on to the BSE.

Bandhan Bank on Wednesday reported a 47.3% jump in its September quarter net profit due to higher other income and net interest income.

Net profit for the quarter stood at ₹487.65 crore against ₹331.09 crore a year ago. MUMBAI: Procter and Gamble (P&G) India said Wednesday it has establishe­d a multi-milliondol­lar fund to invest in Indian start-ups and pursue a collaborat­ive growth strategy. The company, however, did not disclose the size of the so-called Innovation Sourcing Fund.

P&G has also launched a first-of-its-kind programme, vgrow, which will identify and collaborat­e with small businesses, individual­s and large organizati­ons, and offer innovative industry-leading solutions.

“The Indian market has been at the forefront of innovation and continues to be a priority for the company, globally. We are confident that through vgrow and Innovation Sourcing Fund, we will be able to identify and implement cuttingedg­e solutions that are a strategic fit for us on our journey to grow sustainabl­y,” said Madhusudan Gopalan, managing director and chief executive officer, P&G India sub-continent.

The company held a two-day summit to connect with its vgrow external partners across functions—from supply chain and raw material vendors to brand and marketing agencies, and packaging companies—to pitch and share their ideas.

 ?? MINT ?? Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD and CEO, Bandhan Bank
MINT Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, MD and CEO, Bandhan Bank

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