Singh: Eyeing opportunities

Calcutta, April 20: After acquiring Bank of Punjab last June, Centurion Bank is on the prowl again. It is now eyeing a bank with a strong presence in the western or southern region.

?We have already rejected three proposals since January and there are 2-3 more on the table,? said Harpreet Singh, head-branch banking and wealth management services of Centurion Bank of Punjab. He, however, declined to divulge the names of the shortlisted banks.

?We are looking for a bank which has a network of more than 100 branches in the southern or western states,? he added.

Centurion Bank of Punjab also plans to float a non-banking finance company (NBFC).

?The bank may soon seek permission for an NBFC from the Reserve Bank of India,? the official said, adding Centurion Bank was about to file an NBFC application with the RBI when the Bank of Punjab deal took shape. ?The NBFC idea was put on the backburner. Now that human resources of the two banks have been merged and only that of the systems is pending, which is expected to be completed by November, we thought it is the right time to dwell on our organic and inorganic growth. The NBFC application will be filed soon,? the official said.

Though Centurion Bank of Punjab has not yet decided on whether to buy out an existing NBFC or set up a new one, it is likely to have its NBFC arm running this fiscal. ?The non-banking finance company will focus on infrastructure and other sub-prime lending areas,? said the official.

Centurion Bank of Punjab plans to complete its second bank acquisition this fiscal. In an extraordinary general meeting last year, the shareholders approved a proposal to raise Rs 600 crore to fund its expansion and acquisitions.

The bank has recently sought RBI?s approval for a private placement of shares to raise Rs 400 crore. ?The approval is still pending with the apex bank. However, Citigroup Venture Capital has committed to pick up a 4.1 per cent stake in Centurion Bank of Punjab. We are in talks with another private equity investor, but nothing has been finalised,? the official said.

Centurion Bank of Punjab has clocked a 227 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 232 crore in the March-December period last fiscal. Its retail asset portfolio during the same period surged 160 per cent to Rs 4,058 crore, while deposits grew to Rs 8,588 crore.

Centurion Bank of Punjab will also set up 30 more branches this year, of which four will be located in the eastern region where it already has 11. The bank eyes a network of 400-odd branches by the end of this year. It now has 241 branches across the country.