Chennai: Public sector lender Indian Bank is targeting to raise $1 billion through External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) by Dec-end under the RBI’s concessional swap window. This comes close on the heels of the state-owned lender mobilising FCNR(B) deposits worth Rs 22,486 crore (about $2.4 bn) and raising Rs 3,806 crore (about $393 mn) through Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCBs).On Thursday, the bank’s board approved raising long-term infrastructure bonds aggregating up to Rs 5,000 crore in one or more tranches during the current or subsequent financial years to finance or refinance infrastructure and affordable housing projects. It also approved raising up to Rs 2,000 crore in additional Tier 1 (AT1) and Tier 2 capital through the issuance of Basel III-compliant bonds during the current or subsequent financial years.Indian Bank MD and CEO Binod Kumar said the bank had already raised $400 mn-$500 mn through ECBs. “We are getting some good rates, and good opportunities are also emerging. By the end of Dec, we can raise $1 billion through ECBs. This will be the highest ECB mobilisation for our bank,” he told TOI on Thursday. The ECBs are sourced mainly through GIFT City and the bank’s international branch in Singapore.The bank has reported a 15% year-on-year growth in net profit to Rs 3,462 crore in Q2 of FY27, up from Rs 3,018 crore in the year-ago period. Net interest income (NII) rose 18% year-on-year to Rs 7,719 crore (Rs 6,551 crore a year earlier).Advances to the retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) segments grew 18% year-on-year to Rs 4,42,302 crore as of Sept 2026, from Rs 3,75,660 crore a year earlier, accounting for 67% of gross domestic advances. “Our gross advances grew 16.4% year-on-year, with almost all sectors contributing to the growth,” Kumar added.The domestic current account and savings account (CASA) ratio stood at 39.4% as of Sept 30, 2026, up from 38.9% a year earlier. “We have added about 25 lakh CASA accounts in the past six months and aim to add another 35 lakh in the second half of the financial year (Oct-March),” Kumar said.
