YESBANK

June 17 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• RECEIVED 780 MILLION RUPEES FROM A SINGLE TRUST , IN SECURITY RECEIPTS PORTFOLIO

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];;))

June 13 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• MOODY'S RATINGS: UPGRADES INDIA'S YES BANK TO BA2 FROM BA3; CHANGES OUTLOOK TO STABLE

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];;))

June 4 (Reuters) - Indian lender Yes Bank YESB.NS has approved proposals to raise up to 160 billion rupees ($1.87 billion) through equity and debt issuances, it said late on Tuesday.

It plans to raise up to 75 billion rupees in equities and 85 billion rupees by issuing debt in Indian or foreign currency, the bank said, with the overall equity dilution - including any future conversion of debt into shares - capped at 10%.

The private lender did not specify what it would use the funds for.

Last month, Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) agreed to acquire a 20% stake in the Indian lender from eight existing shareholders, including the State Bank of India SBI.NS.

The Sumitomo deal, valued at 134.8 billion rupees ($1.58 billion), marked the largest cross-border merger and acquisition deal in India's financial sector.

($1 = 85.6480 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]))

** Yes Bank YESB.NS shares fall 8.6% to 21.28 rupees

** YESB top pct loser on Nifty Private Bank index .NIFPVTBNK, which is down 0.7%

** More than 756 million shares traded in 260 block deals on NSE at 21.07-22.93 rupees apiece, a 1.5%-9.5% discount to last close of 23.28 rupees - as per data compiled by LSEG

** Stock set to snap three sessions of gains

** Overall trading volume at 1.03 billion shares, 5.8x the 30-day average

** Separately, bank to consider raising funds today via issuance of shares, debt securities

** YTD, stock up 8.6%

(Reporting by Vijay Malkar)

(([email protected];))

May 28 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK LTD - BOARD MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 03 TO CONSIDER FUND RAISING

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];))

May 9 (Reuters) - State Bank of India SBI.NS:

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - DIVESTMENT OF 13.19% STAKE IN YES BANK LIMITED

• SBI - DEAL FOR 88.89 BILLION RUPEES

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - TO DIVEST YES BANK SHARES TO SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION

• STATE BANK OF INDIA - DIVESTMENT TO SMBC AT 21.50 RUPEES PER EQUITY SHARE

Source text: ID:nBSE5VjPDY

Further company coverage: SBI.NS

(([email protected];;))

May 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) is in advanced discussions to buy a significant stake in India's Yes Bank YESB.NS, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday, citing people aware of the matter.

The move is expected to trigger an open offer for an additional 26% Yes Bank, the report added.

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 7982114624;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, April 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Casualties are piling up in India's war for bank deposits. The CEO of $8 billion IndusInd Bank INBK.NS stepped down on Tuesday after accounting and lending woes nixed almost half its market value. The shambles is the most high-profile fallout of the banking industry's intense fight for low-cost funds in the country that has wrong-footed executives, shareholders and watchdogs.

Sumant Kathpalia is trying to distance himself from the mess caused on his watch, which includes rising losses on microfinance loans. He is resigning, he said, to take "moral responsibility" for a derivatives lapse that shaved 2.27% off the bank's net worth when it came to light a month ago. His deputy also stepped down on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of India had insisted on the exits, Reuters reported. But the regulator was initially intending for the lender to find replacements first, which is why it approved a one-year extension to Kathpalia's tenure just last month.

The saga bears the markers of perverse incentives. At the heart of the controversy is IndusInd's long-term foreign currency deposits, which it converted to rupees to fund loan growth without fully accounting for mark-to-market losses. The practice, which stretched back at least six years, effectively inflated profits.

The RBI ushered in new accounting rules for internal derivatives trades in April 2024. Nonetheless, repeated instances of governance crises and RBI action at private lenders from Yes Bank YESB.NS to RBL Bank RATB.NS point to the limits of regulatory effectiveness in an environment of fierce competition.

India's 33 banks are locked in a battle for low-cost deposits. Private lenders, the product of India's 1990s liberalisation, have to compete with state-owned peers which are generally regarded as safer.

There's a newer rival, too: Indians' blooming hopes of making more money by putting their cash into stocks and mutual funds. Bank deposits accounted for 44% of overall household financial assets in March 2024, down from 56% in 2020. The drop, coupled with steady loan growth, has driven banks to increasingly tap short-term debt and attracted health warnings from the RBI.

Management overhauls can hold out hope of a fresh start. But the war for deposits may yet claim more casualties.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

IndusInd Bank on April 29 said its Managing Director & CEO Sumant Kathpalia had stepped down from his role. Kathpalia claimed "moral responsibility" in his resignation letter for an accounting lapse that shaved 2.27% off the bank's net worth.

With the Reserve Bank of India's approval, the lender's board has set up a committee of executives to oversee its operations either for three months from the date of Kathpalia's exit or until a new chief assumes charge, whichever comes first, IndusInd said on April 30.

(Editing by Antony Currie and Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

April 22 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• DHAVAN SHAH RESIGNS AS COUNTRY HEAD - SME BANKING

Source text: ID:nBSE7Rx3KQ

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Shares of Yes Bank YESB.NS climb 4.4% to 18.88 rupees; on track for best day in over three-months

** Private lender's lower bad loan provisions helped its Q4 standalone profit rise 63% to 7.38 bln rupees (~$87 mln), beating market estimates of 6.34 bln rupees, as per LSEG data

** Stock eyes busiest trading session in more-than three weeks, with around 162.5 million shares traded

** Bigger rivals ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS hit record highs after also beating Q4 profit estimates on higher net interest income

** YESB rated "sell" on avg, ICBK, HDBK rated "buy"- data compiled by LSEG

** Year-to-date, YESB down ~8%, ICBK, HDBK up ~10%, ~8%


($1 = 85.0900 Indian rupees)

MUMBAI, April 19 (Reuters) - India's Yes Bank YESB.NS reported a better-than-expected 63% rise in net profit for the January-March quarter on Saturday, helped by falling loan-loss provisions.

The Mumbai-based private lender's standalone net profit rose to 7.38 billion rupees ($86.39 million) for the financial year fourth quarter from 4.52 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier.

That was above analysts' average forecast of 6.4 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Yes Bank's provisions and contingencies, or funds kept aside for potential bad loans, fell 32.5% on-year to 3.18 billion rupees.

Its gross non-performing asset ratio, a key gauge of asset quality, was at 1.60% at end of March, unchanged from the end of the previous three months.

Net interest income, the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid to depositors, rose 5.7% to 22.76 billion rupees.

Its other income, including fees, commissions and interest earned traditional interest-based activities, rose 11% to 15.67 billion rupees.

Its loans grew 8.1% on year, while deposits rose 6.8%.

Net interest margin, a key profitability measure, was 2.50%, up from 2.40% a year earlier and in the previous three months.

Analysts expect banks' net interest margins to be under pressure in the coming quarters following the 50-basis-points rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India since February. That is because the pass-through to loan rates happens faster compared to deposits.

Shares of Yes Bank closed 1.2% higher on Thursday ahead of the results.
($1 = 85.4290 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak in Mumbai; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

** Yes Bank YESB.NS down 4.62% to 17.12 rupees after Q4 business update

** YESB set for biggest one day percentage decline in nearly 3 months

** Shares at lowest level since November 2023

** Co's Q4FY25 performance "mixed, with subdued credit growth," says ICICI Direct Research

** Co's Q4FY25 loans grew by 0.7% q/q while deposits grew 2.6% q/q

** "The slow pace of credit growth may limit near-term margin expansion despite improving liability mix"- brokerage

** Including session's decline, YESB shares down ~31% in the last 12 months

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

March 21 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK LTD - GETS 4.29 BILLION RUPEES FROM SINGLE TRUST IN SECURITY RECEIPTS PORTFOLIO

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];))

Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK LTD - RECEIVES INCOME-TAX DEMAND OF 1.45 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE6PJFzt

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

March 13 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK LTD - UPDATE ON SALE OF NPA PORTFOLIO TO JC FLOWER ARC

• YES BANK LTD - RECEIVES 820 MILLION RUPEES FROM FROM A SINGLE TRUST IN SECURITY RECEIPTS PORTFOLIO

Source text: ID:nBSE9SW5bW

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES SECURITIES ALLOTS 2,50,85,603 SHARES TO YES BANK

Source text: ID:nBSE5RHyyk

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Jan 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A small-loan crisis is creeping up on India’s banks. Bad debt inched up at the $146 billion HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and other private lenders in the three months to the end of December, and the central bank recently warned of a deep rot in small loans. The $2 trillion banking system is better prepared for an asset quality crisis than a decade ago, but a stalling economy could batter its defences.

HDFC’s gross bad loan ratio rose six basis points from the end of September to 1.42%. Axis Bank AXBK.NS doubled its provisions and contingencies from the same three-month period in the previous year to account for defaults on unsecured personal loans, and Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS raised them by 37%.

India’s banks learnt some lessons from the last blowup in 2015-16, when a string of chunky project loans left their balance sheets bleeding. At 16.7%, their capital as a share of risk weighted assets is nearly four percentage points higher than in 2014. The share of the top 100 borrowers in outstanding loans is down to 15% from 18%. Bad loans are at a 12-year low of 2.6%. And the Reserve Bank of India mandates Indian lenders hold a 2.5% buffer above the 9% minimum capital requirement under Basel III norms. It tightened the screws on unsecured loans in November 2023 to curb excessive risk-taking.

Macroeconomic disruption could mess with that. An RBI stress test revealed that in an extreme scenario where GDP growth slows to around 3% and inflation rises to 7.8%, four banks may breach the minimum capital requirement of 9%.

Mid-sized private banks are prone to that risk. In 2020, Yes Bank’s YESB.NS rivals rescued it from near-failure with cash infusions and months later, Singapore's DBS DBSM.SI acquired another capital-starved lender based in southern India. That’s making markets jittery about private lenders like RBL RATB.NS and IndusInd Bank INBK.NS which specialise in microloans of under $500, the segment where the stress is deepest. The finance chief of IndusInd, which reported surging provisions and a profit drop in the September quarter, resigned on Friday.

So far the risk is limited to only a slice of loans -- unsecured loans account for a quarter of total bank credit. To contain it, banks are easing off on new lending. That in turn could slow GDP growth further. It’s a feedback loop India can ill afford.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

HDFC Bank on Jan. 22 reported consolidated net profit of $2.04 billion for the three months to Dec. 31, 2% higher than in the same period a year earlier. The bank’s gross non-performing asset ratio rose six basis points from the end of September to 1.42%.

IndusInd Bank on Jan. 18 said Chief Financial Officer Gobind Jain resigned from the position on the previous day to pursue other professional opportunities.

(Editing by Antony Currie and Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/
[email protected]))

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK LTD - DEC-END LOANS & ADVANCES UP 12.6% Y/Y

• YES BANK - DEPOSITS UP 14.6% Y/Y AS ON DEC END

Source text: ID:nBSE2sW6hG

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];))

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Nureca Ltd NURE.NS:

• NURECA LTD - ACQUIRED SHARES OF YES BANK FOR 9.7 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE2mqXS6

Further company coverage: NURE.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Yes Bank YESB.NS climb 8.2% to 21 rupees

** Co's Q2 profit jumps on strong lending income, lower provisions

** Trading vols 109.4 mln vs 30-day avg of 77.3 mln

** Day's jump trims YTD losses to 2.4%

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

MUMBAI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - India's Yes Bank YESB.NS reported a bigger-than-expected rise in net profit for the July-September quarter on Saturday, helped by an increase in core lending income and a drop in provisions.

The Mumbai-based private lender's standalone net profit more than doubled to 5.53 billion rupees ($65.8 million) for the financial second quarter from 2.25 billion rupees in the same period a year earlier.

That exceeded analysts' average forecast of 5.46 billion rupees, according to LSEG data.

Yes Bank's loans grew 12.4% on year, while deposits rose 18.3%.

Net interest income, the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid to depositors, rose 14.3% to 22 billion rupees.

Indian banks have consistently seen healthy demand for loans as economic growth has been strong and urban consumption demand is high. Banks, however, are trying to raise deposits to fund the credit growth that has kept margins under pressure.

Yes Bank's net interest margin, a key profitability measure, was 2.4%, up from 2.30% a year earlier and flat from the previous three months.

Provisions and contingencies, or funds kept aside for potential bad loans, fell nearly 41% to 2.97 billion rupees.

This was after the bank reversed provisions worth 1.03 million rupees previously kept aside for its exposure to Alternative Investment Funds, it said.

Yes Bank's gross non-performing asset ratio, a key gauge of asset quality, improved to 1.6% at end of September, 1.70% from the end of the previous three months.

Shares of Yes Bank closed 2.6% lower on Friday ahead of the results.

($1 = 84.0950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by William Mallard)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK - SEPT LOANS & ADVANCES UP 13.1% Y/Y

• YES BANK - PROVISIONAL DEPOSITS UP 18.3% Y/Y AS ON 30-SEP-24

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];))

Repeats story from late Wednesday with no changes to text

By Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Talks to sell majority stakes in two Indian banks have attracted interest from foreign peers in Japan and the Middle East betting on a fast-growing economy, but tighter regulations and valuation concerns could curb their appetite, analysts and sources say.

The rare opportunity for foreign banks to take controlling stakes in a market dominated by state-owned banks comes as existing investors in Yes Bank YESB.NS and IDBI Bank IDBI.NS look to divest their holdings.

Banking sector deals in India, especially those involving foreign entities, are rare. A full takeover of troubled Indian lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank by Singapore-based DBS Group in a regulatory-driven transaction in 2020 was the last major deal.

The top shareholders are looking to exit from the two banks about four years after they were roped in by the regulator and the government to help them recover from sharply worsening asset quality due to rampant lending that threatened their stability.

Private sector lender Yes Bank, in which shareholders are looking to sell a 51% stake, has drawn interest from Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) and Emirates NBD, Reuters has reported.

IDBI Bank, in which the Indian government and the Life Insurance Corporation are collectively selling a 60.72% stake, has seen Emirates, Canada's Fairfax Group, as well as local rival Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS express interest.

The foreign interest in the two banks comes as the Indian economy is forecast to grow at 7.2% this year, making it one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.

Demand for bank credit, which includes corporate loans and mortgages, is growing at twice the expected economic growth pace and gross bad loans in the domestic banking sector are currently at multi-year lows of 2.8% of total assets.

Similar to other major markets, inbound banking sector deals are tightly scrutinized in India. Given the sector's importance and linkages with the broader economy, New Delhi is expected to field interest from bidders in countries it has good political ties with, analysts said.

"India's growth story is promising, and corporates are looking to expand their businesses," said Ashvin Parekh, managing director of Ashvin Parekh Advisory Services, which provides services to investors in banks.

"That is enticing these (foreign) players," Parekh said.

Despite those attractions, stricter rules related to capital requirements and ownership restrictions, and state domination with government-backed banks accounting for nearly 52% of the bank credit have weighed on foreign banks' operations in India.

Regulations in India also require that the largest shareholder of a local bank, termed as 'promoter' under Indian regulations, must their reduce shareholding to 26% over a 15-year period.

Foreign lenders, including HSBC HSBA.L and Standard Chartered STAN.L, accounted for only 3.4% of the banking sector credit as of March 2024, less than half of the 8.4% share they held in March 2000, according to the central bank data.

'FIERCELY COMPETITIVE'

SMBC has been in advanced talks with Yes Bank and its lead investor State Bank of India SBI.NS over the past few weeks for the majority stake acquisition, said three sources with knowledge of the talks.

The core banking unit of Japan's No.2 banking group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T has sought Yes Bank operational data and its executives have met with the officials at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the central bank, said the sources.

Yes Bank was rescued by a consortium of local banks in 2020 after bad loans soared.

Emirates NBD is also in talks for a stake in Yes Bank. It is also participating in the stake sale process for IDBI Bank, said one of the three sources above and a fifth person familiar with the talks in India.

The government plans to invite financial bids for IDBI Bank by the end of this financial year, divestment secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey told Reuters last month. IDBI Bank was rescued by the government in 2019.

RBI has approved Fairfax Financial, Emirates NBD, and Kotak Mahindra as potential bidders, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The sources declined to be identified as the talks were private.

Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra did not comment on the deal talks. SMBC declined to comment. The RBI, IDBI Bank, Emirates NBD, and Fairfax did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

HIGH VALUATIONS?

However, some potential bidders are expected to baulk at the high valuations of the targets, analysts say, clouding the prospects of the deals being sealed. It was not immediately clear known how soon the two deals will be finalised.

Yes Bank is currently valued at about $10 billion, and trading at 1.58 times the 12-month forward price-to-book value, according to LSEG, compared to the sector median price-to-book value of 1.45 times.

IDBI Bank trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-book value of 1.97 times, LSEG data shows.

The "legacy" of asset quality issues at the two banks would also feed into the cost of acquisition for the prospective foreign buyers, said independent research analyst Hemindra Hazari.

"The real problem, however, is that the Indian banking system is fiercely competitive," said Parekh. "A foreign player would need a significant amount of branch network, distribution and franchise to be able to sustain in the banking system."

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; additional reporting by Swati Bhat and Ira Dugal in Mumbai, Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Miho Uranaka in Tokyo; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kim Coghill)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

BENGALURU, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Indian private lender Yes Bank YESB.NS on Tuesday relieved Amit Sureka from his duties as the country head of its financial markets division.

The lender, in a statement, did not mention the reason for Sureka's removal.

Sureka, based in the lender's Mumbai branch, had joined Yes Bank in 2005.

Yes Bank, where Indian lenders collectively own a 34% stake and the State Bank of India (SBI) is the largest shareholder with a 24% interest, has been seeking a new promoter.

SBI aims to cut its stake in Yes Bank by March-end to sell its 24% stake, sources had told Reuters earlier this month.

The sale could allow stakeholders like SBI, Life Insurance Corporation of India LIFI.NS, HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and ICICI Bank ICBK.NS to exit, after they had stepped in to save the lender from collapse in 2020.

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Yes Bank Ltd YESB.NS:

• YES BANK- NAMES SUMIT BALI AS COUNTRY HEAD - RETAIL ASSETS AND DEBT MANAGEMENT

Further company coverage: YESB.NS

(([email protected];))

By Ashwin Manikandan and Siddhi Nayak

BENGALURU/MUMBAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Indian private lender Yes Bank YESB.NS has appointed veteran banker Sumit Bali to head its retail business and collections, three sources directly familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Bali will join Yes Bank from Aug. 26 and report to executive director Rajan Pental, one of the sources said.

The banker, who headed retail lending for India's third largest private lender Axis Bank AXBK.NS, had quit in June. Friday is his last day at Axis Bank.

The sources did not wish to be identified as they are not allowed to speak with the media.

Yes Bank did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Bali has almost three decades of experience in retail banking, and worked at Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS before joining Axis Bank, where he worked in multiple roles.

At Yes Bank, his role will be crucial "as the bank is now entering its transformational phase in its hunt to find a new promoter", the second source said.

Yes Bank's loan book stood at approximately 2.30 trillion rupees ($27.39 billion) as on June 30, of which 60% was made up of retail and small and medium enterprise loans.

Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Dubai-based Emirates are in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Yes Bank, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

($1 = 83.9575 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak in Mumbai and Ashwin Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

By Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, aims to strike a deal by end-March for the sale of its 24% stake worth 184.2 billion rupees ($2.2 billion) currently in smaller rival Yes Bank YESB.NS, four sources with direct knowledge said.

Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Dubai-based Emirates NBD ENBD.DU are in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in Yes Bank, two of these sources said. Sumitomo Mitsui is a unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 8316.T, Japan's second-biggest bank.

"Both the bidders are interested in acquiring a majority 51% stake in Yes Bank to get sizeable control of the bank's business," one of the sources said. "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has verbally okayed the proposal and due diligence is on."

Yes Bank was restructured by the RBI in March 2020 with the help of a consortium of local banks after its financial health deteriorated.

SBI currently holds about 24% in Yes Bank while 11 other lenders, including ICICI Bank ICBK.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS, who were also involved in Yes Bank's rescue, together hold 9.74%.

Two private equity funds - CA Basque Investments and Verventa Holdings - collectively hold another 16.05%. The remainder is with some other investors and with the public.

"Bidders are seeking relaxation on the regulatory requirement that promoter shareholding be brought down to 26% within 15 years of the investment, and talks are on," said one of the sources, referring to the stake by controlling shareholders.

The sources did not wish to be identified as they are not authorised to speak with the media.

SBI said it categorically denies any development in this matter.

In a response to Reuters' query, Yes Bank said it had "no comments to offer regarding (the) stake sale as these inquiries are speculative in nature."

RBI and Emirates NBD, Dubai's biggest bank, did not immediately respond to Reuters' emails seeking comment. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp said it will not comment on "individual deals".

Other media earlier reported the interest of Japanese and Middle Eastern lenders in acquiring SBI's stake in Yes Bank.

SBI has already received RBI's verbal approval to divest its whole stake in Yes Bank, one of the sources said, adding that SBI is expecting to make a profit of around 100 billion rupees.

"SBI had rescued Yes Bank when there was a liquidity crunch, but now that things have turned around, it is prudent to exit," this person said.

Once RBI approves the bidders, the process should happen quickly and SBI will have a chance to negotiate valuation, etc., with the bidders, two of the sources said.

At the current market price of 24.60 rupees, Yes Bank is valued at 770.95 billion rupees.

Talks could be delayed due to volatility in the Japanese market and a parallel government stake sale process in IDBI Bank IDBI.NS, a fifth person familiar with the process said.

Emirates NBD, one of the potential bidders for Yes Bank, has also expressed interest in buying private lender IDBI Bank and prefers waiting till that process is concluded, the source added.

($1 = 83.9600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Additional reporting by Ira Dugal in Mumbai and Miho Uranaka in Tokyo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

(([email protected]; +91 22 6921 7848; Reuters Messaging: X: https://twitter.com/siddhiVnayak))

BENGALURU, Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's markets regulator on Monday said that perpetual bonds will be valued by mutual funds based on the call option on these securities, a move that will make it easier for lenders to raise funds through this route.

Perpetual bonds have no fixed maturity but often offer investors an option to call the securities after five or 10 years.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said these securities will now be valued according to that call option.

SEBI had changed the way additional tier I (AT-1) bonds were valued in March 2021, after Yes Bank YESB.NS wrote down such bonds in 2020 as a part of a state-led restructuring plan.

Following this, the markets regulator asked mutual funds to value perpetual bonds as 10-year papers until March 2022, 30-year papers until March 2023 and 100-year paper thereafter.

Those rules hurt demand for such papers and made it more expensive for banks to raise capital, particularly from domestic mutual funds.

Reuters earlier this year reported that Indian banks suggested changing the valuation method of such bonds to call options instead of treating them as 100-year securities.

(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected];))

Corrects paragraph four to say Axis Bank is the third largest private bank by market capitalisation, not fourth largest

BENGALURU, July 25 (Reuters) - Axis Bank's AXBK.NS shares fell 6% on Thursday as analysts flagged a slowdown in near-term credit growth and pressure on margins, a day after the bank reported a first-quarter profit that missed estimates.

The stock hit its lowest level since June 5, recording its worst intraday percentage fall since June 4.

The bank was the top loser on the benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which was down 0.8%, as well as on the Nifty Bank index .NSEBANK, which fell 1.4%.

India's third-largest private bank by market capitalisation said the funds kept aside to cover potential bad loans and losses from any unforeseen events rose 97% from a year earlier.

Its net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, also shrunk to 4.05% from 4.10% a year ago.

Going forward, in the short term, credit growth is likely to be constrained by deposit growth given the central bank's increased focus on lowering the credit-deposit ratio, Systematix analysts said in a note.

India's upbeat economic growth and strong urban consumption have spurred strong credit growth, leaving banks scrambling for funds, with some of them taking in deposits at a faster pace. This has weighed on their margins.

As the bank focuses on improving deposit growth and managing NIM, loan growth will remain moderate in the near term, Phillip Capital analysts said in a note.

At least seven out of the 40 analysts covering Axis raised price targets after the results, while five analysts lowered theirs. The average rating is "buy" with a median price target of 1,370 rupees.

Additionally, Jefferies trimmed its earnings estimate for Axis Bank for the upcoming three financial years to factor in higher credit costs.

Axis' rivals Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS and Yes Bank YESB.NS also reported margin contractions for the June quarter.

Axis Bank's shares have risen 12.4% year-to-date as of the last close.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR and Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )

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** Shares of Yes Bank YESB.NS rise 3% to 25.52 rupees, set for best day in nearly two weeks, if gains hold

** The private lender reports a bigger-than-expected 46% rise in June-quarter net profit on lower provisions

** Yes Bank stock on track to snap a three-day losing streak

** Avg rating of 12 analysts covering YESB at "sell", median PT is at 16.75 rupees

** Stock up ~19% YTD vs a ~4% rise in Nifty private bank index .NIFPVTBNK

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru)

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