Tamilnad Mercantile Bank expects RBI to lift up ban on opening up of new branches after IPO

The bank is hoping to open up 100 to 150 new branches in 18 to 24 months once RBI gives its approval. The century-old bank said on Tuesday that it will hold an initial public offering (IPO) of 830 crores from September 5 to September 7.

Currently, more than 72% of the bank's 509 branches are located in Tamil Nadu, and 75% of these new branches will be opened in other states in order to diversify the bank's presence after the IPO.

The restrictions on TMB have their origins in the shareholders' decision to increase the company's authorized share capital to 500 crores in January 2016. The bank was forced to implement restrictions, including those on building new branches, after the RBI highlighted in June 2019 that the bank had failed to increase its subscribed capital to at least half of the authorized capital as needed.