Shares of Canara Bank are edging up

Canara Bank, a PSU lender, edged up in a weak market on Monday after the bank said it would make a preferential allotment of shares to the government.

Canara Bank, 65 percent owned by the government, said it would allot shares worth 947 crore rupees to the government in a move that will help it boost lending and at the same time maintain capital adequacy.

Canara Bank rose 5.25 rupees, or 1.8 percent, to 287.55 rupees on the National Stock Exchange where 31.3 lakh shares were traded compared with a 5-day average of 48.3 lakh shares

The bank's market capitalisation has dropped 25 percent to 14,605 crore rupees in the past one year as investors stayed away from lenders exposed to the industrial slowdown. Canara Bank is trading 0.5 times its book value of 553 rupees.

Image credit: Indiatimes