Axis Bank to raise Rs 18,000 crore

Private sector lender Axis Bank said on Saturday its board has approved raising up to Rs 18,000 crore through an issue of equity shares, depository receipts or convertible securities.

The Board of Directors of the bank approved the proposal in this regard in the meeting held Saturday, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

"The Board... has approved raising of funds aggregating up to Rs 18,000 crore," Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The bank is one of the worst-affected private lenders after the Reserve Bank's asset quality review, which led to a huge increase in bad loans over the past three years.

The bank's provisioning for bad loans reduced to Rs 2,711 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, from Rs 7,179 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, according to regulatory filings.

The bank said that the fund will be raised through issue of equity shares/depository receipts and/or any other instruments or securities representing either equity shares and/or convertible securities linked to equity shares including through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP)/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs)/ Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) program, preferential allotment or such other permissible mode or combinations as may be considered appropriate.

The fund will be raised subject to shareholder's approval to the fundraising proposal through the postal ballot process.