Syndicate Bank MD Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, one of the six SBI deputy MDs chosen by the Centre to head nationalized banks, has drawn up a multi-pronged plan to improve advances, clean up bad loans and grow fee income. The government has decided to tap SBI with the object of bringing some of the best practices of the country’s largest bank into smaller nationalized banks. To improve Syndicate Bank’s tier I capital adequacy ratio well over the 6.7% prescribed by the regulator, on January 7 Syndicate Bank’s committee of directors will meet to approve raising Rs 500 crore by issuing equity shares to eligible staff members under an Employee Stock Purchase Scheme. This capital-raising exercise comes on the back of the government investing Rs 2,460 crore in two tranches. After a career in SBI, Mahapatra has taken charge in September 2018. According to him the business plan is to build even as they are repairing. The uniqueness is that while the government mandate is to refer loans...