State-owned lender Punjab & Sind Bank is targeting a significant milestone of ₹3 lakh crore in total business by the end of the current financial year. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the bank achieved ₹2.63 lakh crore in total business during FY26, registering a growth of 15 per cent. MD and CEO Swarup Kumar Saha stated that the bank hopes to cross ₹3 lakh crore during the current financial year, driven by expected loan growth and deposit expansion. The bank is expecting credit growth of 16-18 per cent and deposit expansion of 13-14 per cent in the ongoing financial year, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. With this projected credit and deposit growth, Saha indicated that the bank can surpass ₹3 lakh crore business mix, which represents the total of advances and deposits.
To meet the credit expansion requirements, Punjab & Sind Bank is planning to raise substantial resources through both equity and debt issuances. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the bank is eyeing to mobilise up to ₹3,000 crore via share sale on a private placement basis to meet the minimum public shareholding (MPS) norms of market regulator Sebi. Currently, the Government of India holds a 93.85 per cent stake in the bank, and the board has approved raising up to ₹3,000 crore from Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) or other means in FY27. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, Saha confirmed that the bank is in discussion with merchant bankers and will soon start roadshows to engage with investors for the proposed stake dilution. However, he noted that timing and exact quantum would depend on market conditions, which are not very conducive at present.
The bank's board has also approved ₹3,000 crore infrastructure bonds and ₹2,000 crore from Tier I and Tier II bonds to fund credit growth, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The bank had conducted a maiden issuance of infrastructure bonds in December 2024 and has fully deployed the funds raised from its first infrastructure bond issuance. Saha noted that domestic investors have shown significant interest in such bond issuances by banks, with many lenders exercising this option for raising resources in recent times. The advantage of infrastructure bonds is that they are exempt from regulatory reserve requirements such as the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), allowing infrastructure bond proceeds to be fully deployed for lending activities. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, banks have been preferring infrastructure bonds over AT-1 and Tier-2 bonds as they are better priced.
The timing and exact quantum of the fundraising initiatives will depend on market conditions, which are not very conducive at present. The advantage of infrastructure bonds is that they are exempt from regulatory reserve requirements such as the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), allowing infrastructure bond proceeds to be fully deployed for lending activities. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, banks have been preferring infrastructure bonds over AT-1 and Tier-2 bonds as they are better priced. The bank's growth strategy is designed to fuel ambitious expansion plans for the current financial year, with the bank expecting to achieve the ₹3 lakh crore total business milestone through a combination of credit growth and deposit expansion.
