Bandhan Bank 'cycloned'

Yesterday, Bandhan Bank stated that it was impacted due to the cyclone Amphan. The Bank said that 49 banking units (micro banking outlet) in five districts were impacted of which 45 are operational today. Also, the Bank could continue operations in all but five branches in the affected districts. Where the outlets could not continue services, it was due to issues in accessibility. The bank said that it expects these outlets to resume operations shortly.

The Bank said that the business of around 65,000 of its micro banking borrowers, amounting to an exposure of approximately Rs.260 crore, could be impacted due to the cyclone. The major impact has been in the district of South 24 Parganas.

After the cyclone Fani, which had caused large scale damage in Odisha in May 2019, the Bank said it took 3 to 6 months to achieve normalcy. On the back of this experience, the Bank expects the Amphan affected portfolio to regularise by Q3 of FY21.

The stock price, as expected is in the red following this news. From its close of Rs.210.75, it today opened with a loss of over 3% and went down to an intraday low at Rs.195.40, a decline of over 7%.