News on RBI nod for ARC stake speculative, lacks bonafide sources: YES Bank

Private sector lender YES Bank said on Wednesday that media reports saying that the bank had received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to hold 20 per cent stake in an asset reconstruction company are speculative.

In a release to exchanges YES Bank said that the media reports have no bonafide reference.

“The Bank is not aware of the source, which resulted in the abovementioned news item and as a matter of policy, the Bank would not like to comment on such speculation,” the lender said.

YES Bank clarified that it had indeed started the process of seeking a partner for an asset reconstruction company through a public expression of interest, but added that the process is still underway. At present, YES Bank has not taken any binding or effective decisions on the matter.

“We shall keep the Exchange(s) informed of all the material development as required under Regulation 30 of Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 read with Bank’s Policy on “Determination of Material Events under Regulation 30 of Listing Regulations’,” YES Bank said.

On Tuesday, media reports quoting sources had said that the central bank had granted in-principle approval to YES Bank to acquire 20 per cent stake in JC Flowers and Co’s asset reconstruction firm.

According to the reports, YES Bank would be categorised as a sponsor of the asset reconstruction company and would need to spend around Rs 300-400 crore in order to pick up the stake.

Any purchase of stake worth more than 9.9 per cent in an asset reconstruction company by a bank requires approval from the RBI.