Bank of Maharashtra is looking to raise at least Rs 2,000 crore to bring down the government’s stake in the current financial year to 75% so that it meets the market regulator’s minimum public shareholding norm of 25%.

The state-owned bank is weighing various options, including raising the amount through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) or an offer for sale.

“Raising Rs 2,000 crore at the current stock price should suffice to comply with the SEBI norms. The route could be through a QIP or an offer for sale,” Bank of Maharashtra managing director and CEO Nidhu Saxena told reporters on the sidelines of FIBAC 2025, organised by FICCI and the Indian Banks Association.

According to market regulator SEBI’s norms, all listed companies need to have at least 25% free float publicly held shares.

The government owns 79.6% stake in Bank of Maharashtra, which means that it has to get rid of 4.6% of its shareholding in the bank. The lender’s stock price is hovering under Rs 55 per share.

Saxena is confident that Bank of Maharashtra would be able to meet the regulatory norms in the next tranche of capital raise this year. The bank has taken approval to raise up to Rs 7,500 crore via debt and equity, probably to be mopped up in tranches. 

Besides meeting the regulatory norm, the fundraise will help the bank to maintain its capital adequacy to support future business growth.

In October last year, Bank of Maharashtra raised Rs 3,500 crore via a QIP. This increased the public shareholding in the bank to 20.4% from 13.5%.

The finance ministry has asked five public-sector banks to increase the public shareholding limit to 25% by August 1, 2026.

Bank of Maharashtra has less government stake to dilute than the other four lenders. The government’s stake in Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank and UCO Bank is much higher at near or over 90%.