Canadian investor Prem Watsa’s Fairfax’s Indian arm Fairfax India Holdings will buy a 51 per cent stake in the Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank for around Rs 12 billion.
The deal, if it materialises, will be the first takeover of an Indian bank by a foreign non-banking financial entity after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tweaked ownership norms last May.
The bank’s board on Saturday approved Fairfax’s proposal and both parties are expected to sign an agreement next week.
Catholic Syrian Bank Chairman TS Anantharaman confirmed the development and said Fairfax India Holdings Corporation had formally indicated its continued interest in buying 51