Thrissur (Kerala): Kerala-based South Indian Bank has decided to split its stocks 1:10 to make it affordable to more people and broaden its retail shareholders base, a top official of the bank said Wednesday. The bank's board of directors has decided to split one share of 10 face value into 10 shares of Re.1 each, said the bank's managing director and chief executive officer, V.A. Joseph. "The share split decision has been taken to make our shares affordable to the small shareholders and also for broad-basing of retail shareholders which would encourage wider retail investor participation, including that of the NRIs," Joseph said in a statement here. The board's decision is subject to shareholders' approval and clearance from regulatory authorities, he said. The bank has an equity base of 113.01 crore with 11.30 crore shares which will become 113 crore shares after the split. The bank logged a net profit of 233.76 crore, highest in its 81-year history, in the 2009-10 financial year. The bank gave a dividend of 4 per share for the year against 3 the previous year. The SIB stock was trading at 157.60.