IndusInd Bank appears confident that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will allow promoters to retain up to 15 per cent stake in private sector banks. The current rules mandate that promoters of private banks must pare their shareholding in the bank to 10 per cent over a period of time.
"As you all know that the roadmap which RBI has prescribed for the bank warranted the promoters' shareholdings (to) come down to 10 per cent...It is our understanding and belief that with the new guidelines on bank licences coming through will actually allow promoter holding to go up to 15 per cent," Romesh Sobti, managing director and chief executive officer of IndusInd Bank, told analysts earlier this month.
The draft guidelines on new bank licensing had proposed that promoters of new banks must float a non-operative holding company (NOHC). The NOHC will hold 40 per cent paid-up capital of the new bank for an initial period of five years. It will then have to reduce its stake in the bank to 20 per cent within 10 years and 15 per cent within 12 years from the date of licensing. The final norms on new bank licensing are yet to be released.
In October-December quarter, IndusInd Bank's promoters reduced their stake in the bank by selling shares to qualified institutional bidders. The bank raised Rs 2,000 crore through the qualified institutional placement (QIP). Promoters held 15.30 per cent stake in IndusInd Bank at the end of December, 2012 compared to 19.38 per cent a quarter ago.
"As far as the promoter holding is concerned absolute clarity will never come from RBI. I have worked in banking for 39 years. I never had a situation where we have said we have absolute clarity. But there is definite comfort and that is why you saw the actions that happened in December. The actions were aimed at bringing down the shareholding to 15 per cent...I think absolute clarity will come in this quarter," Sobti said.
"So technically, you can still say that they are not at the prescribed 10 per cent but I think the promoters have that comfort. We also support that comfort that what will apply to the new banks will also apply to old banks and we will not be in non-compliance," he added.
A few other bankers also echoed a similar view but were not willing to comment on record. "We expect RBI to allow promoters of existing private banks to hold up to 15 per cent stake. That will ensure a level playing field between new and existing banks," said a senior banker with a mid-sized private bank.
The private banks where promoters' holding is currently more than 10 per cent include DCB Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and YES Bank.
According to bankers the restrictions on promoters' shareholding is not applicable on HDFC Bank since its promoter Housing Development Finance Corporation is a publicly listed company. Promoters' shareholding in HDFC Bank was 22.94 per cent at the end of December, 2012.
