SBI Likely To Cut Stake In YES Bank Once Lock-In Ends: Report

Currently, SBI held a 26.14 per cent stake in YES Bank as of December 31, stock exchange data showed, and is the largest single shareholder in the rescued lender

SBI does not want to permanently retain a stake in YES Bank and would want to trim its holdings, albeit in phases, according to the report.

India’s largest public sector lender, State Bank of India (SBI) may look to lower its stake in YES Bank after a lock-in period ends on March 6, quoting two sources privy to the development news agency Reuters reported on Thursday.  

According to the report, SBI does not want to permanently retain a stake in YES Bank and would want to trim its holdings, albeit in phases, one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"The percentage of equity dilution that the bank intends to do will have to be placed before the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) in due course."

Currently, SBI held a 26.14 per cent stake in YES Bank as of December 31, stock exchange data showed, and is the largest single shareholder in the rescued lender.

YES Bank's net profit dipped by 80 per cent to 52 crores in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23, according to the exchange filing by the bank on January 21. In Q2 of FY22 was net profits were Rs 266 crore. Bank said profits were affected “due to ageing related provisions.”

The private sector lender has also announced that it will appeal against the Bombay High Court's order in the Rs 8,400-crore AT-1 bonds case of 2020, saying it has strong legal grounds to do the same.

According to the filing, Bank’s the net profit decreased by 66 per cent quarter on quarter to Rs 153 crore for the three-month period ending on September 30, 2022. Although the bank’s net interest income, increased to Rs 1,970.6 crore in Q3 of FY23 from Rs 1,764 crore in the year-ago period, an 11.7 per cent jump. The net interest income (NII) stood at Rs 1,991 crore, flat compared with the previous quarter.

The bank’s non-interest income jumped 55.8 per cent to Rs 1,143 crore. It was largely helped by a Rs 100 crore sale of corporate bonds received as part of a dud loan resolution.