A stint as a summer intern with Citigroup in New York made the difference to this young aspiring MBA lad at New Jersey?s Rutgers University. He decided instantly his vocation was in banking. A year later, equipped with an MBA degree, apart from the bachelor?s degree in Economics (Honours) from the University of Delhi, the 23-year young Rana Kapoor, joined Bank of America in India as a management trainee in 1980. For 16 years he stayed put in the bank, learning every aspect of banking. Be it investment banking or corporate banking, every task was done with ease and recogonised by the management. His recognition won the Eagle Pin, the highest professional recognition for consistent performance excellence at BankAm.
Kapoor later joined ANZ Grindlays Investment Bank as a general manager and country head. Not even once did it occur that he would one day start a bank, that too in an era where private sector banks had established their presence over a decade ago. ?My first stint that put my entrepreneurial skills to test was in 1998, where for over five years I was the managing partner and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rabo India Finance, an NBFC,? Kapoor humbly admits. The partnership paid subsequently when Kapoor decided to become an independent entrepreneur with YES Bank, four years ago. One of the shareholders of YES Bank includes Rabobank, Nederland with an over 15% stake. YES Bank was the first greenfield bank to have been granted a license since 1994.
Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapur, who have a collective stake of 38.62%, and currently serve the bank as managing director and CEO and non-executive chairman respectively, financially own YES Bank. Ashok Kapur is an associate member of the Institute of Bankers, UK and has been in the banking industry since 1962. He was employed by Grindlays Bank in various capacities and has also worked as regional manager (executive vice-president), ABN Amro Bank, Singapore. Other stakeholders include Citigroup Venture Capital International (7.41% stake) and ChrysCapital II, LLC (5.56% stake).
A key-differentiating feature of YES Bank is its focus on knowledge banking. ?India is being recognised as the knowledge economy of the world. As a new bank, our focus is to cater to the growing industry needs of an emerging India?s customers,? Kapoor says. The bank?s focus areas range from agriculture, selective manufacturing sectors, infrastructure, retailing to life science, biotechnology and knowledge finance.
A specialised Development & Knowledge Banking division has been institutionalised within YES Bank, to spearhead its knowledge focus, with a dedicated teams of bankers and industry experts to provide specialised solutions for sunrise sectors like food and agribusiness, infrastructure development, life sciences and biotechno- logy, telecommunications, information technology, media and entertainment, and real estate.
The total income of YES Bank for Q3-FY2008 was up 115% at Rs 443.18 crore, as compared to Rs 205.69 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The operating profit for the quarter was up by 110.8% at Rs 110.94 crore, as compared to Rs 47.89 crore in the third quarter of the fiscal 2006. The profit after tax rose by 116.10% at Rs 54.24 crore, as compared to Rs 25.10 crore for Q3-FY2007. Total advances grew by 79.10% to Rs 8,598 crore from Rs 4,800 crore as on December 31, 2006. Total deposits increased by 103.80% to Rs 11,129 crore from Rs 5,461 crore as on December 31, 2006. The non-interest income contributed to 51% of the total net income of the bank as on December 31, 2007. In Q3-FY2008, the return on assets and equity was 1.53% and 20.46% respectively. The capital adequacy ratio was 14.18%, the book value per share was Rs 42.53, and the basic earning per share (non-annualised) was Rs 1.91.