YES Bank to raise USD 1 billion through equity sale

Country's fifth largest private sector lender YES Bank is looking at raising $1 billion by selling shares in local and overseas markets.

YES Bank, which was founded in 2004, said the share sale could happen in one or more tranches.

It had raised $500 million from a stock sale last May.

In a stock exchange filing, Yes Bank said its board of directors in a meeting today empowered the Capital Raising Committee, a sub Committee of the Board, to raise funds by way of issuance of equity capital up to $1 billion in one or more tranches on such terms and conditions as it may deem fit.

The share issue may be by way of Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) or any other international offering like Global Depository Receipts (GDRs)/American Depository Receipts (ADRs), it added.

Yes Bank reported a 28.1 per cent rise in its standalone net profit at Rs 551 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31 on higher interest income and healthy growth in advances and deposits.

It posted gross non performing advances as a proportion of gross advances -- which gauges whether bad loans are a serious problem for a lender - at 0.41 per cent at March 31.

The board also recommended a dividend of Rs 9 per share.