YES Bank Ltd.'s shares increased by 2 percent on Tuesday after the bank refuted a media report claiming the Reserve Bank of India had approved in principle the purchase of up to 51 percent of the bank by a suitable new promoter. The report claimed this amount exceeded the 26 percent limit on promoter holdings allowed by banking regulations in the regular course of business.
"In this context, the bank would like to make it clear that the information in the aforementioned article is entirely speculative and factually inaccurate. YES Bank informed stock markets that "RBI has not granted any in-principle approval as stated in the article. The company is issuing this clarification voluntarily to dispel the baseless media article."
YES Bank said it will keep the stock exchanges informed of any important occurrences as required under Regulation 30 of the Listing Regulations. In response to the news, YES Bank's stock increased by 1.9 percent to a high of Rs 26.18 in early trading on the BSE. Two persons with intimate knowledge of the situation informed Mint that the sixth-largest private bank by assets in India may be valued at about $10 billion through a potential share sale.
The RBI was still evaluating the bids' suitability, according to the newspaper. According to the report, the bank assigned Citigroup the task of identifying potential promoters. Approximately one-third of YES Bank is owned by State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, and LIC.
