HDFC Bank announced on Thursday that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted approval for the Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) to acquire an additional 4.8% stake in the country’s largest private sector lender. LIC currently holds a 5.19% stake in HDFC Bank.
According to a stock exchange filing by HDFC Bank, the RBI has advised LIC to complete the acquisition of the additional HDFC Bank shares within a year. However, LIC must ensure that its overall holding in the bank does not exceed 9.99% of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of the bank at any given time.
The central bank’s approval is contingent on LIC’s compliance with various regulations, including the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, RBI’s Master Direction and Guidelines on Acquisition and Holding of Shares or Voting Rights in Banking Companies, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, and regulations issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Under the RBI regulations, any entity seeking to acquire a substantial shareholding in a bank, defined as an aggregate holding of 5% or more of the paid-up share capital or voting rights, must obtain prior approval from the regulator. This move follows a similar approval granted in May last year to SBI Funds Management Ltd, allowing them to acquire up to 9.99% stake in HDFC Bank.
Notably, in a banking context, entities specified as fit and proper are permitted to hold up to 5% without requiring RBI approval. Any subsequent increase in stake beyond this threshold necessitates regulatory approval, which LIC sought due to its post-merger stake exceeding 5%.
This announcement is expected to bring relief to HDFC Bank’s shareholders, particularly after a recent sell-off that led to the shares approaching 52-week lows. Analysts speculate that the sell-off might have been triggered by foreign investors reacting to a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposal regarding foreign portfolio investors.
However, HDFC Bank clarified earlier that there is no evidence linking the foreign portfolio investors’ selling activity to the recent SEBI guidelines.