FPI trades in HDFC Bank stock in limbo

Foreign shareholding cap in the bank overshoots limit; RBI calls emergency meeting of custodians

In what could be a tricky situation, some trades of overseas investors in HDFC Bank may have to be reversed, as foreign investors’ prescribed investment limit of 74 per cent in the private sector lender was breached in Friday’s trades before the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular banning further purchases in the counter. 

HDFC Bank is a favourite stock of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), and the foreign investment cap of 74 per cent of its equity is typically fully utilised. On Thursday evening, the central bank had lifted restrictions on fresh purchases by foreign investors, as their