The Reserve Bank of India has approved Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) to acquire as much as 24.99% of Yes Bank’s paid-up share capital and voting rights. The approval, granted through a letter dated August 22, will remain valid for one year and is subject to compliance with the Banking Regulation Act, RBI’s shareholding norms, FEMA rules, and lock-in guidelines.
Importantly, even with this sizable stake, SMBC will not be classified as a “promoter” of Yes Bank, which frees the Japanese lender from the additional regulatory duties that come with promoter status. The acquisition plan involves an initial purchase of 20%, to be carried out via a secondary share sale. Of this, 13.19% will be offloaded by the State Bank of India, while the remaining 6.81% will come from a consortium of seven institutional investors including Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank, Bandhan Bank, and IDFC First Bank.
While the RBI clearance marks a key step, the deal is still pending approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other standard conditions laid out in the agreement signed earlier in May 2025.
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