Yes Bank on Tuesday clarified and refuted media reports suggesting that the private lender has received in-principle approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for sale of up to 51 per cent stake. In a regulatory filing, Yes Bank said that the report is ‘factually incorrect and purely speculative in nature’.
“In this regard, the Bank would like to clarify that the contents of the said article are factually incorrect and purely speculative in nature. RBI has not given any in principle approval as stated in the article and this clarification is issued by the company voluntarily to dispel the baseless media article,” it said in a statement.
Earlier, media reports stated that the RBI has given its approval for up to 51 per cent stake purchase by an appropriate incoming promoter for Yes Bank, which is higher than the 26 per cent promoter-holding limit in the usual course of business under banking rules. Sources had confirmed to a media platform that the potential sale could value Yes Bank at approximately $10 billion, making it the largest acquisition in the country’s banking sector.
The reports had further stated that the RBI officials have verbally agreed to the sale proposal, and a formal written approval is yet to come. It said that the RBI is still accessing the fit-and-proper status of the bidders. State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank and LIC own about one-third stake in Yes Bank.