Were Yes Bank shareholders caught unaware by RBI and FinMin action?

The shareholders of private sector lender YES Bank seem to have been caught unawares by Thursday’s development when the Reserve Bank of India put a moratorium on the bank and superseded its board.

“The bank was optimistic about getting an investor this time. In fact, it was in the final stages of discussion,” said a person familiar with the development.

In fact, potential investors, including executives from Tilden Park Capital Management and JC Flowers & Co, are also understood to have met with RBI officials in recent weeks, the sources said.

Top executives seem to surprised by the sudden turn of events.

“No one is sure what triggered the RBI and Finance Ministry action. The bank had been regularly briefing the regulator about capital-infusion plans,” said the person.

Investors show interest

Announcing a delay in its third quarter results, private sector lender YES Bank had announced in February that it had received non-binding expressions of interest from several prominent investors, including JC Flowers & Co; Tilden Park Capital Management LP; OHA (UK) LLP (part of Oak Hill Advisors); and Silver Point Capital.

Balance sheet

The bank was looking to raise about $1.2 billion to $2 billion capital, but the delay had raised questions about its balance sheet.

No announcement had been forthcoming from the lender. In fact, till Thursday afternoon, YES Bank said it had not received any communication on a potential stake purchase by a consortium led by State Bank of India.