Kochi: The Federal Bank Ltd board on Friday deferred a discussion on a possible acquisition of Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) to its next meeting because it has not yet received a full due diligence report from consulting from KPMG.

M. Venugopalan, managing director and chief operating officer of Federal Bank, said the board is awaiting the final report of consultancy firm KPMG which has completed financial due diligence for CSB. “Once the final report is got, the matter may be taken up at the next board meeting which should take place sometime in December,” he told Mint.

Mint reported 13 November that the Thrissur archdiocese of the Roman Catholic church has opposed any takeover of CSB on grounds that it would dilute the unique identity of the bank.

As for whether the deferment would give it more time, CSB Protection Committee’s convener Johnny Chandy said all steps would be taken to bring in new investors, including non-resident Indians. The committee, with the backing of the church, is opposing any merger or acquisition of CSB.

“The Committee has been in touch with CSB shareholders and will hopefully strike deals with them for the investors at the earliest,” he told Mint.