United Western Bank seeks SIICOM assistance for revival

Mumbai, Sep 5 (UNI) The board of the United Western Bank Ltd (UWB), placed under a moratorium since Saturday last, today said it has requested SIICOM (State Industrial Investment Corporation of Maharashtra), a state government enterprise, to come forward and play a pivotal role in the revival of the bank.

Incidentally, SIICOM holds about 10 per cent of the equity of the UWB.

Earlier during the day, UWB has submitted a reconstruction scheme to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As a part of the scheme, UWB has committed to bring in funds immediately to meet all liabilities, achieve adequate capital to risk weighted assets ratio and net worth requirements, the Bank said in a statement issued here.

Assuring the RBI that the bank will bring in funds immediately to meet all liabilities and achieve adequate CRAR and the Net Worth requirements, the board of UWB has filed an Expression of Interest to RBI for submission of Scheme of Reconstruction up to September eight, this year.

UWB is under moratorium from September two to December one, this year, (inclusive), as per RBI's order issued under the section 45 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

The order was passed sighting the reported net loss incurred by the bank. For the June '06 quarter the bank witnessed net loss of Rs 6.08 crore, a negative (-0.3 per cent) capital adequacy ratio, and net non-performing assets of 6.16 per cent.

The bank incurred net losses of Rs 98.64 crore and Rs 106.48 crore during the years 2004-05 and 2005-06, respectively. Its net non-performing assets were 5.66 per cent as on March 31, 2006, as compared to the peer group figure of 1.97 per cent. As on March 31, 2006, the banks deposits were at Rs 6,480 crore and advances were Rs 4,006 crore.

Meanwhile, a clutch of banks including India's second-largest lender ICICI Bank and State-run lenders like Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank and Andhra Bank besides Saraswat Co-operative Bank are bidding for UWB.

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