Bank of Maharashtra seeks approval from shareholders to raise Rs 1000 crores for future growth opportunities
Pune, June 29, 2016: S. Muhnot, Chairman and Managing Director Bank of Maharashtra along with Executive Director Shri. R. K. Gupta and Board of Directors Shri. R. Thamodharan, Shri. PremChandra Sethi, Shri Sanjeev Jain and Shri. Ramdeo Saydiwal addressed the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which saw a strong participation of over 400 shareholders. The meet was held to seek shareholders consent to raise Rs 1000 crores by way of FPO/ Rights issue/ QIPs etc to meet capital requirements as per RBIs Basel III norms to tap future growth opportunities.
The CMD began the proceedings by paying homage with a two-minute silence for the victims of the Istanbul airport attack.
Shri. S. Muhnot, CMD began the address by highlighting the performance of the bank. He stated that the bank has achieved an all time record of Rs. 250,230 crore in total business, registering 12.05% growth on year-on-year basis. The bank’s gross advances rose by 9.91% (Rs 10,030 crore) while the CASA deposits also indicated a robust growth of 12.52% (Rs. 5,670 crore) to Rs 50,967 crore constituting 36.68 % of total deposits.
Post his address, the shareholders congratulated and appreciated the leadership for their efforts in achieving the milestone and being one among few public sector banks to have recorded profits in FY 2015-16. They also raised queries around the NPA, dividends and future growth strategies of the bank.
Addressing their queries, the CMD replied, “Containing the NPAs was a challenge for the entire banking sector due to the slippages in steel, power and infrastructure. We have taken necessary steps to speed-up the recovery process across various levels of loan segments. The bank has the lowest NPA in the retail segment going forward we would increase our efforts in growing our home-loan portfolios. We are estimating a growth of 20-25 percent in this segment. To fuel this growth we would like to appoint DSA (Direct Selling Agents). We welcome our retired staff to join hands to expand the reach of our superior products.” Responding to the query on dividends he said, “We at Bank of Maharashtra are committed towards our shareholders and are striving to provide better value for our investors.”
Catering their products and services to new age customers the bank has undertaken several technological innovations such as MahaMobile Banking application which will provide hassle free access. The CMD also indicated in expanding the human capital by recruiting around 500 employees at various levels.
In these lines the CMD gave an outline of the two-year roadmap where the bank will focus on reducing NPAs, expanding the bank’s portfolio in the home loan, SME and Priority sector lending and raise the capital of Rs 1,000 crores to propel growth.
