RBL Bank extends credit card partnership with Bajaj Finance for five years

RBL Bank on Monday announced that it has extended its co-branded credit card partnership with Bajaj Finance Ltd for a period of five years up to December 2026.

"RBL Bank Limited today announced the signing of the agreement with Bajaj Finance Limited for the extension of the partnership of co-branded credit cards for a period of 5 years to December 2026," the private lender said in a regulatory filing.

Shares of RBL Bank plunged 18.10 per cent to close at Rs 141.6 apiece on the BSE on Monday. The scrip also hit its 52-week low of Rs 132.35 on concerns of the lender's financial position.

Amid concerns over the health of RBL Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had earlier today assured depositors and stakeholders that the private sector lender is "well capitalised" and that its financial position is satisfactory even as shares of the bank witnessed a sell off.

In a slew of developments in the past few days, RBI had appointed an additional director to RBL Bank's board while the lender's MD & CEO Vishwavir Ahuja went on leave.

Against this backdrop, newly-appointed chief Rajeev Ahuja, on Sunday, said that the financial position of the bank was strong and the sudden change at the top level was not related to any concerns.

As concerns persisted, RBI on Monday said there has been speculation related to RBL Bank in certain quarters which appears to be arising from recent events surrounding the bank.

"There is no need for depositors and other stakeholders to react to the speculative reports," the central bank said and emphasised that the lender's financial health remains stable.

RBL Bank's Vishawvir Ahuja stepped down and Rajeev Ahuja was appointed as the interim MD & CEO after RBI appointed its Chief General Manager Yogesh K Dayal as an additional director on the lender's board.

Dayal, whose appointment is effective from December 24, will stay for two years until December 23, 2023 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.

On Sunday, Rajeev Ahuja said the bank's financial position was strong and it had full support of RBI and its board of directors.

On December 25, bank unions' umbrella body AIBEA wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman saying that the bank had high exposure to credit card business, retail credit and micro-financing which had weakened its financials.

Fearing that RBL Bank was going the Yes Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank way, AIBEA had urged the government to intervene immediately and consider merger of the bank with a public sector bank.