New Delhi, September 17
State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday announced the successful completion of the divestment of a 13.18% (approximately) stake in Yes Bank Limited (YBL) to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the state-owned lender said in a statement.
SMBC is a Japanese multinational financial services company belonging to the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and is amongst the leading foreign banks in India. SMFG is the second largest Banking Group in Japan with total assets of around USD 2.0 trillion.
SBI became the largest shareholder of YBL in March 2020 under the Yes Bank Limited Reconstruction Scheme, 2020, as notified by the Central Government.
Subsequently, SBI had also acquired additional shares as part of follow-on public offer by YBL in July 2020.
Post the aforesaid divestment, SBI will continue to remain a shareholder in YBL with a shareholding of 10.8 per cent (approximately) of YBL shares (Residual shareholding).
The partial stake sale by SBI and other shareholder Banks in YBL to SMBC represents the largest cross-border investment in the Indian banking sector, the SBI said in the report. The transaction has received the necessary regulatory and statutory approvals including from the Reserve Bank of India and the Competition Commission of India.
SBI Chairman, Challa Sreenivasulu Setty said, "Yes Bank restructuring plan by RBI in 2020 was an innovative, first of its kind public sector - private sector partnership that was fully supported and facilitated by Government of India. We are incredibly proud of the journey we have shared with Yes Bank in supporting their transformation since we came onboard as the major shareholder in 2020."
SBI and the other selling Shareholder Banks were advised by SBI Capital Markets Limited as their financial advisor and S&R Associates as their legal advisor, the state-owned bank SBI said in the statement.
State Bank of India is the largest commercial bank in terms of assets, deposits, branches, customers, and employees.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Japanese investment in Indian banking sector is a positive sign for foreign confidence in our economy. SMBC is a major global player - this partnership could bring new banking technologies to India.
Hope this doesn't affect Yes Bank customers. SBI did a great job stabilizing the bank during crisis, but foreign ownership brings different priorities. Let's see how this plays out for account holders.
As someone working in finance, this is actually brilliant. SBI entered at crisis valuation and exits with profit while bringing in a strong international partner. Textbook successful turnaround story!
RBI and government handled the Yes Bank crisis very well. From collapse to now attracting foreign investment - this shows the strength of our banking regulatory system. ðŸ‘
While this looks good on paper, I hope SBI got the right valuation. Public sector banks sometimes undervalue assets. Would be good to know the transaction details.
Japan-India economic partnerships growing stronger! First bullet trains, now banking investments. Good for both countries' economic ties. 🇮🇳ðŸ¤ðŸ‡¯ðŸ‡µ
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