Talks are in the town that HDFC bank has got RBI approval to acquire stake in banks like ICICI bank, indusind bank, Yes bank, etc. But in a clarification issued by HDFC Bank, emphasized that the RBI approval for acquiring a stake in IndusInd Bank does not apply to HDFC Bank itself but rather to the HDFC Bank Group (HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited and others). The approvals were granted pursuant to applications made by HDFC Bank (as a promoter/ sponsor of the Group) to RBI on December 18, 2023.
The document filed with the exchange states that, “Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we wish to inform you that the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) vide its letters dated February 05, 2024, has given its approval to HDFC Bank Limited ( which includes its group entities viz HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited and others) to acquire “aggregate holding” of up to 9.50% of the share capital or voting rights in the following Banks:
Banks in which HDFC group companies can increase stake to 9.5% are IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank and Bandhan Bank.
Further, the circular says, HDFC Bank has to ensure that the aggregate holding in IndusInd does not exceed 9.50 percent of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of IndusInd, at all times. If the “aggregate holding” falls below 5 percent, prior approval of the RBI will be required to increase it to 5 percent or more of the paid-up share capital or voting rights of IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank.
According to shareholding pattern of Yes Bank, 100 percent stake is held by the public. Of this, LIC holds 4.34 percent stake in the lender while SBI-led consortium (including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank) hold 37.23 percent stake. Further, HDFC AMC has 3.43 percent stake in ICICI Bank and 2.57 percent stake in Axis Bank.
IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, reported their quarterly results in January, beat profit expectations on the back of strong loan growth. Suryoday Small Finance Bank and Bandhan Bank are yet to report results.
