3 reasons why YES Bank shares are in focus today

Shares of YES Bank Ltd will be in focus during the trading session on Friday on the back of redemption from a trust in the security receipts portfolio and news related to the reported stake sale by the SBI and Sumitomo Mitsui CEO's visit to India amid the buzz of its interest in the private lender.

The bank would like to inform that it has received a redemption amounting to Rs 63 crore from a single trust in the security receipts portfolio, said YES Bank in an exchange filing with the bourses on Wednesday. This is with reference to sale of NPA portfolio to JC Flowers ARC on December 17, 2022, it said.

Shares of YES Bank settled at Rs 23.99 on Wednesday, falling slightly more than half a per cent. The total market capitalization of the lender stood little more than Rs 75,000 crore at the close of the previous session.

In other news, news agency Reuters reported that State Bank of India (SBI) aims to strike a deal by end-March for the sale of its 24 per cent stake worth 18,400 crore currently in the YES Bank. Country's largest PSU lender SBI currently holds about 24 per cent in YES Bank while 11 other lenders, including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, involved in Yes Bank's rescue, together hold 9.74 per cent.

Japanese lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) and Dubai-based Emirates NBD are in advanced talks to acquire a majority stake in the private lender, said the report citing multiple sources.

Akihiro Fukutome, the global CEO of Japanese-lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp will be in India this week to explore the possibility of picking up a significant stake in Yes Bank, reported a business daily The Mint. Fukutome is expected to meet officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and State Bank of India (SBI) to discuss the acquisition.

YES Bank was restructured by the RBI in March 2020 with the help of a consortium of local banks after its financial health deteriorated. Barring the lenders, two private equity funds - CA Basque Investments and Verventa Holdings - collectively hold another 16.05 per cent stake in YES Bank. The remainder is with some other investors and with the public.