The leading private sector bank's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.50 per share of Rs 10 subject to the approval of shareholders, the bank's chairman PN Joshi said in Mumbai on Monday. The annual general meeting of United Western Bank will be held at Satara (Maharashtra) on August 18.

The net non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank, as a percentage of its net advances, have gone up to 8.28 per cent for the fiscal year 1998-99, as compared to 5.73 per cent for the previous fiscal.

Joshi clarified that the substandard assets account for 60.7 per cent of gross NPAs in 1998-99 (52.5 per cent in the previous fiscal), doubtful assets 38.9 per cent (47.4 per cent) and loss assets 0.3 per cent (0.1 per cent), indicating that the loss assets are minimal for the bank.

The depositswith the bank for the fiscal year 1998-99 have touched Rs 3,434 crore, showing a 29 per cent increase over the previous fiscal, while its advances have clocked a 22 per cent increase to cross Rs 1678 crore (Rs 1370 crore in the previous fiscal).

United Western Bank has already made 0.25 per cent provisioning for its standard assets as against the Reserve Bank of India's regulatory requirement for the same starting March 2000.

The banks' capital adequacy ratio stood at 11.64 per cent against the stipulated 8 per cent, Joshi said and added that its unsecured and non-convertible bonds issue of Rs 70 crore in February 1999 had helped shore up the tier II capital. "No further issues are planned in this fiscal," the bank chairman said.

Total income of the bank for the fiscal year 1998-99 has crossed Rs 389 crore, while total expenditure for the period stood at Rs 351 crore, registering an enen growth of roughly 16 per cent on both counts, Joshi said and added that the earnings per share (EPS) was currentlypegged at Rs 12.42 against Rs 11.21 last year.

"The bank has already marked to market 80 per cent of its investments against stipulation of 75 per cent by March 2000," Joshi said.