Retail investors bought YES Bank shares as institutions exited en masse

Soon after the RBI announced the moratorium, global bank JP Morgan pegged YES Bank shares at Rs 1 a share.

As YES Bank’s financial metrics started showing signs of stress over the past year, large institutional shareholders and the promoter of the bank sold their shares. But it was the retail shareholders who were left holding the can with over 50 per cent stake in the bank, statistics collated by Business Standard shows.

While promoter Rana Kapoor’s shares were sold either by him or because lenders exited plegded shares, the other promoter family — the Gogias — remained invested. In November, Kapoor sold his residual shares worth Rs 142 crore and was holding only 900 shares. This was within weeks