DEVELOPMENT CREDIT BANK MULLS HIKE IN FDI TO 49% - 2002-07-29

NEW DELHI : As part of its plan to reorient its business, Development Credit Bank Ltd (DCB) is considering hiking the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the bank to 49 per cent from the present 37.5 per cent held by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). The Aga Khan Foundation of France, supports economic development in developing countries. 'With the FDI norms having been relaxed we are considering a possible hike in the overseas holding to 49 per cent,' Mr Sandeep Mookerjee, Head, Personal Finance Services, DCB, told Business Line. DCB has a paid-up capital of Rs 23 crore and reserves and surpluses of Rs 301 crore at the end of March 31, 2002. Mr Mookerjee said that the bank which has been operating on the fringes primarily relying on community banking has now decided to transform itself into a 'mainstream, modern private sector bank.' In the past the bank has been catering mainly to the Ismaili community, which considers Aga Khan as their spiritual leader.