The lender also said it remained active in developing new businesses to diversify its sources of income.

Following positive feedback from potential investors, Arbuthnot's commercial bank would invest in infrastructure to launch a commercial property fund, it said.

"(The) Group is also in active dialogue with management teams, which should, during the course of 2018, further assist the business in continuing its strategy of diversifying its asset base and earnings," Arbuthnot said.

Arbuthnot, which has its roots in a 184-year-old private bank and wealth manager Arbuthnot Latham, said its loan portfolio rose 33 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30 from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)