RBI asks Kotak Mahindra Bank to cut promoter stake

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd to cut its promoter holding to 40% by September 2014 from 43.58%, the private sector lender said in a notice to the stock exchange.

Promoter holding has to be further cut to 30% by 31 December, 2016, the bank said.

Reducing promoter holding in banks is among the long-term plans of the central bank and is not a surprise, said Daljit Singh Kohli, head of research at India Nivesh Securities Ltd.

Besides Kotak, Yes Bank Ltd with over 25% promoter holding and DCB Bank Ltd with over 18% holding may also be asked to reduce their promoter stake.

The central bank wants to diversify promoter holding in banks away from individuals and make it more institutionalised. Even though mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd owns more than 20% in HDFC Bank Ltd, it is not expected to reduce stake since the parent is already diversified.

“I do not see any much impact of this on bank stocks because it.is already known and priced in by the market,” Kohli said.

At 11.53am, Kotak Mahindra Bank was trading at Rs.858.80 on BSE, down 0.54%, while India’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.69% to 24,545.71 points.

Kotak Mahindra Group