Will the Chennai-based Indian Bank ride the IPO wave? While the bank's officials are refusing to divulge the plan yet, indications are that the proposed IPO could well hit the market in August or September.

Market observers are pretty confident of this. They see that the build has already begun. The bank has been signing up a rash of tie-ups for different fee-based services.

It is also hurtling towards the implementation of its core banking solutions. These moves are slated to boost the bank's brand equity and elevate its share value.

Indian Bank will be showing a profit for the third consecutive year for the fiscal ending March 31, 2004. The bank expects to attain autonomy in April, which will free it from the Reserve Bank of India interference in its operational matters.

The bank's capital adequacy ratio (CAR) has never looked prettier at 12.85 per cent as on December 31, 2003, up from 10.85 per cent as on December 31, 2002. The bank expects to close the current financial year with a CAR of over 14 per cent.

Ballpark estimates are that it will post a net profit of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) this fiscal, compared with Rs 188.33 crore (Rs 1.883 billion) in the fiscal ended March 31, 2003. The bank also plans to raise Tier-II capital of Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in June.

The bottomline is that the if the bank misses the bus the second quarter of the next financial year, it will have to wait until 2005 to come to the market, given the procedural factors involved as a run-up to any bank IPO.