Sharemarket volatility stymies bank capital raising
BNK Banking Corp has withdrawn a planned non-renounceable rights issue in the face of market volatility.On February 18 the bank had announced that it had reached agreement with "certain institutional and sophisticated investors" to raise A$7.02 million by way of an equity placement. The bank said the capital raising was to fund growth in its lending business and strengthen its balance sheet. It has plans to establish a securitisation program.The bank also announced a one for 10 non-renounceable pro rata entitlement offer to raise up to $5.6 million. The offer was to have been launched after the release of the bank's interim result last Friday.BNK made a net profit of $3 million for the six months to December - up from $670,000 in the previous corresponding period.Net interest income rose from $1.6 million to $2.3 million and net commission income from BNK's aggregation business rose from $6.5 million to $9.8 million.The bank originated $264.9 million of on-balance sheet loans during the half - an increase of 23.7 per cent over the previous corresponding period.