Cabinet approves Yes Bank restructuring scheme, SBI to take 49 pct stake; Axis Bank, HDFC Bank to invest too

The Union Cabinet has approved a restructuring scheme for the private lender Yes Bank, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Friday afternoon, after a meeting. The FM said that State Bank of India will take a 49 per cent stake in Yes Bank, cementing a previously-announced rescue plan. The lender is also in talks with other prospective investors, Sitharaman added. The Finance Minister said that they would need to maintain at least 75 per cent of their investments for a minimum of three years.

Hours after Finance Minister's briefing, Axis Bank announced an investment of Rs 600 crore in Yes Bank while HDFC Bank will also infuse Rs 1000 crore.

This comes after ICICI Bank said that it will invest up to 10 billion rupees ($135 million) in Yes Bank as part of an initial phase of a rescue deal. ICICI said it will buy 10 billion shares of Yes Bank at 10 rupees per share and hold about a 5 per cent stake.

To recall, Yes Bank was placed under a moratorium last week following a serious deterioration in the bank's financial position.

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Meanwhile, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange said on Thursday that Yes Bank will be replaced in the Nifty banking index by Bandhan Bank from March 27. The replacement has been done on account of non-availability of future and options contracts in Yes Bank shares, NSE Indices said in a statement.

Last month, the exchange said that Yes Bank would be moved out from the benchmark index Nifty 50 from March 27. Besides, the bank would be dropped from from futures and options segment from May 29. Apart from the banking index, changes have also been made in several indices, including Nifty Alpha 50, Nifty High Beta 50, Nifty 500, Nifty Small-cap 250 and Nifty Midsmallcap 400.

Among others, Gayatri Projects would be excluded from Nifty 500, Nifty Smallcap 250 and Nifty Smallcap 400 indices. Shilpa Medicare would be added in its place in these indices.