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Bank of India to reduce government equity to 51 per cent

Public sector Bank of India, which posted an operating profit of Rs 11.02 billion in 2000-01, will bring down the government equity to 51 per cent from the present 74 per cent this year.

"We will start the process within a month to bring down the government equity from 74 per cent to 51 per cent by paying back to government about Rs 3 billion," the bank's chairman K V Krishnamurthi said.

Very soon BoI will move application for this purpose, Krishnamurthi said adding the remaining 49 per cent will be held by the public. The bank cannot reduce government equity beyond 51 per cent at present, as the laws do not permit it.

Buoyed by the impressive performance, BoI plans to achieve operating profit of Rs 16 billion this financial year and reduce non-performing assets from the present level of six per cent to four per cent, he said.

Bank of India was among those public sector banks, which were not doing well and its performance had improved dramatically in the last two years. The NPAs, which were as high as 10 per cent a couple of years ago had come down to six per cent this year.

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