Private lender ICICI Bank on Monday launched its qualified institutional placement (QIP), setting the floor price at Rs 351.36 per share.

The bank plans to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore to support business growth and create a buffer to absorb any shock from the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The stock of the lender closed at Rs 364.20, up 1.75 per cent on the BSE. Its board will meet on August 14 to decide the QIP issue price.

Last week, mortgage lender HDFC also set the floor price for its QIP to raise as much as Rs 14,000 crore. Earlier, Axis Bank, too, had hit the market to raise around Rs 10,000 crore. A slew of lenders has undertaken the fundraising exercise to protect themselves from the adverse shocks that the pandemic may give.

ICICI Bank has already raised more than Rs 3,000 crore by divesting part of its stake in its insurance subsidiaries (both life and non-life). The rationale provided by the lender for the divestment of stake was strengthening of balance sheet in view of the pandemic.

While there was a fear that bad loans might shoot up once the moratorium on repayments expired. But, the RBI has now given a one-time restructuring window to banks which should soften the pandemic's impact on their asset quality.

ICICI Bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) stood at 16 per cent as of June 30, 2020, with tier I at 14.72 per cent.

Its asset quality profile improved during the reporting quarter. Gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) declined to 5.46 per cent in Q1FY21, from 6.49 per cent in Q1FY20.