Catholic Syrian Bank and RBL Bank (known earlier as Ratnakar Bank), both old generation private banks, are set to go for IPOs this year. While Catholic Syrian Bank plans to raise about Rs 300 crore from the fresh share issue, RBL Bank intends a float of Rs 800 crore. The IPO decision comes in the wake of the P.J. Nayak committee report on governance issues of banks, which insisted that the two banks must list by December 2014. Rakesh Bhatia, MD and CEO officer of the Thrissur-based Catholic Syrian Bank, said the bank had already begun the preparations for the IPO. The size of the IPO is expected to be around Rs 250-300 crore, he said, adding the bank has been working on strengthening its financials by cutting down on its NPAs. A senior official of the Kolhapur-headquartered RBL Bank said the bank is looking at an IPO in the next nine-ten months in this financial year.
