Bank of Baroda searches for buyer to divest 100% of its New Zealand arm

27 Dec 2023 , 02:15 PM

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BOB) issued a request for bids on December 27th to choose investment bankers to handle the sale of its whole New Zealand affiliate.

The bank placed an advertisement in a newspaper with the following words: ‘Request for proposal for selection of investment banker for sale/disinvestment of Bank of Baroda’s entire 100 percent stake in Bank of Baroda (New Zealand”).’ The deadline for submitting the proposal has been established by the bank for January 24 at 2:00 PM.

Operating under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act, 1989, Bank of Baroda (New Zealand) is a fully owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, having been registered since September 1, 2009.

‘All liabilities of Bank of Baroda (New Zealand) Ltd are guaranteed by its parent bank,’ claimed the lender. As of March 31, 2023, New Zealand had total liabilities of NZD 138.37 million.

‘Any private/ public limited company/ LLP/ Firm across the globe can participate in the tender process,’ stated the announcement.

The bank shut down its operations in South Africa and Hong Kong in FY22, while one of its branches in the United Arab Emirates was closed as of FY2023.

As of March 31, 2023, the bank’s overall business (net) from international branches was Rs 3,20,722 crore, or 14.95 percent of the bank’s global business, according to the annual report for 2022–2023. There were Rs 1,56,313 crore in total deposits and Rs 1,64,409 crore in net advances.

BOB has 8,200 domestic branches, 4,942 of which are rural and semi-urban, and 93 international branches or offices spread throughout 17 countries. As of March 31, 2023, the bank’s advances for agriculture amounted to Rs 1, 24,247 crore, or almost 16 percent of total credit.

BoB announced a net profit of Rs 4,252.89 crore for the September quarter of 2023–24 on November 4th, increasing 28.3% over the same period the previous year thanks to stronger core income growth and improved asset quality. Net Interest Income (NII) for the bank increased to Rs 10,831 crore, or 6.4 percent, year over year.

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