Awaiting NCLT approval for completion of merger with Gruh Finance, says Bandhan Bank

Private sector lender, Bandhan Bank on Thursday said it's waiting for the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval or completion of the merger with Gruh Finance after it posted a jump of 68 percent in its net profit to Rs 650.87 crore in the fourth quarter ended March.

Gruh Finance, the affordable housing finance arm of HDFC Ltd, was taken over by Bandhan Bank in a share-swap deal in January.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, managing director and the chief executive officer said Bandhan Bank has already provisioned 100 percent for Rs 385 crore exposure to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).

Ghosh said HDFC has got approval to hold only 9.9 percent stake in Bandhan Bank and that he was not aware if HDFC was engaged with RBI to increase the stake up to 15 percent.

The lender had registered a net profit of Rs 387.86 crore in the January-March quarter of the previous financial year. Its total income rose to Rs 2,220.51 crore, compared with Rs 1,553.97 crore in the year-ago same period, the bank said in a regulatory filing.