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Informist, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025

MUMBAI - Bank of Maharashtra is confident of meeting the minimum public shareholding norm of 25% after one more tranche of fund-raising in the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Nidhu Saxena said Monday. "The fund-raising will help us with both capital adequacy and lower government stake," Saxena told reporters on the sidelines of FIBAC 2025 organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and the Indian Banks Association.

The finance ministry has asked five public-sector banks, in which public shareholding is below 25%, to increase it to 25% by Aug. 1, 2026. This is in line with the Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which mandate that all listed companies, including those in the public sector, must have a minimum public shareholding of 25%. SEBI's minimum public shareholding rule has been in place since 1993, but its provisions are modified from time to time.

Currently, the government holds 79.6% in the Pune-headquartered bank. According to its current market capitalisation, if the bank raises around INR 20.00-25.00 billion, the government's holding will fall below the 75% mark, Saxena said, adding that it has taken approval to raise up to INR 75.00 billion via debt and equity to be on the safe side.

In October, Bank of Maharashtra had raised INR 35.00 billion through a qualified institutional placement, which resulted in the public shareholding in the bank rising to 20.4% from 13.5% at the end of September. According to Saxena, the bank is yet to decide whether the fund-raising will happen through the QIP or offer-for-sale route. "We are still evaluating the mechanism," he said.

Bank of Maharashtra is comparatively well-positioned among the five public-sector banks in which the government has to lower its stake. The government holds 94.6% stake in Indian Overseas Bank, 93.9% in Punjab & Sind Bank, 91% in UCO Bank, and 89.3% in Central Bank of India.

Bank of Maharashtra reported a net profit of INR 15.93 billion for the June quarter, up 23% on year, on a robust increase in interest income. The interest income for the quarter rose 20% on year to INR 70.54 billion. The bank's shares ended 0.9% lower at INR 54.33 on the National Stock Exchange Monday. Its capital adequacy ratio was 20.06% as of Jun. 30, down from 20.53% a quarter ago but up from 17.00% a year ago.

Speaking about the financial results, Saxena said he could not speak for his peers, but Bank of Maharashtra is not too worried about a fall in treasury income during Jul-Sept. He also said transactions on the Reserve Bank of India's Unified Lending Interface are picking up, though at a slower pace. "Over the course of time, I expect transactions will improve," he said.  End

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta and Aaryan Khanna

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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