State-owned Punjab & Sind Bank plans to raise Rs 2,000 crore in the second half of this fiscal via Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to fund business growth. "The board has already given approval, and merchant bankers should be on-boarded by August," Punjab & Sind Bank managing director and CEO Swarup Kumar Saha told PTI. The fundraising can be concluded in the second quarter or third quarter, depending on market conditions. The QIP would help improve the Capital Adequacy Ratio of the bank, he said. The bank's capital adequacy ratio stood at 17.10 per cent at the end of March 2024. Besides, it would help bring down the government's holding in the bank. The government of India holds a 98.25 per cent stake in Punjab & Sind Bank. Asked about the loan growth outlook for the current financial year, Saha said the bank expects asset book to grow by 12-14 per cent, and in this, retail, agriculture and MSME (RAM) should witness a growth of 15-18 per cent. On the deposit side,