Kotak Mahindra Bank to float infra debt fund

Mumbai: Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) today announced plans to float an infrastructure debt fund.

The Uday Kotak-led bank, which received a board approval recently to raise over Rs 5,000 crore, said it has obtained the RBI nod for floating a subsidiary to manage the fund.

"The RBI has issued a certificate of registration to Kotak Infrastructure Debt Fund Ltd, a subsidiary of the bank, permitting it to commence the business of non-banking financial institution as infrastructure debt fund (NBC-IDF)," the lender said in a regulatory filing this evening.

It can be noted that the country's fourth largest private sector lender has so far stayed away from lending in the infrastructure segment.

The RBI had floated this vehicle in 2013, allowing banks and non-banks to float IDFs for meeting the requirements of the infrastructure sector.

According to the RBI, IDFs are envisaged as vehicles for refinancing existing debt of infrastructure firm, thereby creating fresh headroom for banks to lend to fresh projects.

At present, three IDFs are in operation, promoted by ICICI Bank, IDFC and Larsen & Toubro.

The KMB scrip closed 2.18 percent down at Rs 874.45 on BSE as against a 0.74 percent correction in the benchmark.