State Bank of India-led consortium to takeover Yes Bank

New Delhi: The government has given the go-ahead to State Bank of India and other financial institutions to take over capital-starved Yes Bank, and an announcement is likely to be made soon, highly placed sources said on Thursday.The board of SBI, the country's largest lender, is meeting in Mumbai on Thursday, but it could not be immediately ascertained whether takeover of Yes Bank is on the agenda.

Yes Bank, which is grappling with bad loans, is looking to raise fresh capital but the plans are facing uncertainties. It has also delayed announcement of 2019 December 2019 quarter results due to the ongoing crisis. The bank's capital buffers have come down due to non-performing assets.

The sources said the government has cleared a plan for an SBI-led consortium to acquire a controlling stake in the bank. In a clarification to stock exchanges on reports that the government is said to have approved SBI's plan to buy stake in Yes Bank, the state-owned lender said it would disclose developments, if any, as per Sebi regulations.

"We will abide by the timelines under Regulation 30 of Sebi (LODR) Regulations 2015 in disclosing the developments, if any in the matter to stock exchanges," it added. Yes Bank said it would like to clarify that as on date, the bank has not received any such communication from RBI or any other government or regulatory authorities or from the SBI.

"We are unaware of any such decision. Therefore, we are not in a position to comment on such news item," Yes Bank said in a filing to the stock exchanges. The bourses had sought clarification the reports. Further, Yes Bank said in the usual and ordinary course of its business continues to explore various means of raising capital/ funds through issuance of securities to diverse set of investors to meet its business or regulatory requirements.