PNB board approves raising up to Rs 12,000 crore

Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday said its board has approved raising up to Rs 12,000 crore through issuance of bonds.

The company's board approved raising capital via issue of Basel III compliant AT-1 bonds up to Rs 5,500 crore and Tier II bonds up to Rs 6,500 crore, in one or more tranches, the lender said in a regulatory filing.

Shares of PNB on Tuesday closed 1.96 per cent lower at Rs 34.95 apiece on the BSE.

Recently, PNB acquired nearly 6 per cent stake in public digital e-commerce platform ONDC for Rs 10 crore.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is an initiative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote open networks for all aspects of the exchange of goods and services over digital networks.

PNB had reported a two-fold jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,126.78 crore for the third quarter ended December.

The state-owned bank had earned a net profit of Rs 506.03 crore in the year-ago period.

However, total income during October-December 2021 declined to Rs 22,026.02 crore as against Rs 23,298.53 crore in the year-ago period.