Indian Bank is targeting a record $1 billion mobilisation through External Commercial Borrowings by the end of December, while its board has approved up to Rs 5,000 crore in infrastructure bonds to finance or refinance infrastructure and affordable housing projects.
The public sector lender’s managing director and chief executive, Binod Kumar, said the bank had already raised between $400 million and $500 million through ECBs. The borrowings are being sourced mainly through GIFT City and Indian Bank’s international branch in Singapore, he said.
“We are getting some good rates, and good opportunities are also emerging. By the end of Dec, we can raise $1 billion through ECBs. This will be the highest ECB mobilisation for our bank,” Kumar told the Times of India on Thursday.
The proposed borrowing is being planned under the Reserve Bank of India’s concessional swap window. The announcement follows Indian Bank’s mobilisation of FCNR(B) deposits worth Rs 22,486 crore, or about $2.4 billion, and Rs 3,806 crore, equivalent to about $393 million, through Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings.
Separately, the bank’s board has approved the issuance of long-term infrastructure bonds aggregating up to Rs 5,000 crore in one or more tranches during the current or subsequent financial years. The proceeds will be used to finance or refinance infrastructure and affordable housing projects, placing the bank’s latest capital-raising plans directly alongside two areas central to urban development: long-term project finance and housing credit.
The board has also approved raising up to Rs 2,000 crore through additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital instruments. These bonds will comply with Basel III requirements and may also be issued during the current or subsequent financial years.
Indian Bank’s lending capacity has expanded alongside the fundraising plans. Its net profit rose 15% year on year to Rs 3,462 crore in the second quarter of FY27, from Rs 3,018 crore in the same period a year earlier. Net interest income increased 18% to Rs 7,719 crore from Rs 6,551 crore.
Advances to the retail, agriculture and MSME segments grew 18% year on year to Rs 4,42,302 crore as of September 2026, compared with Rs 3,75,660 crore a year earlier. These segments accounted for 67% of the bank’s gross domestic advances. Kumar said gross advances grew 16.4% year on year, with almost all sectors contributing to the increase.
The bank’s domestic current account and savings account ratio stood at 39.4% on September 30, 2026, up from 38.9% a year earlier. Indian Bank added about 25 lakh CASA accounts in the six months to September and aims to add another 35 lakh during the second half of the financial year, from October to March.
The ECB target and the approved bond issuances remain subject to the bank’s planned execution across the current and subsequent financial years. The December-end target is the next stated milestone for Indian Bank’s foreign-currency borrowing programme.
