Japanese lender SMBC’s decision to buy nearly 25 per cent stake in Yes Bank should be seen as a vote of confidence and also creates “possibilities” of a rating upgrade, a top official at the private sector lender has said.
The nearly Rs 16,000-crore bet from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is a strategic one from an investor of global repute and it will help improve Yes Bank’s ability to raise capital, drive business growth through network tie-ups and increase profitability, the official said.
“(With) the advantage …in terms of having a strategic investor, ability to raise capital, somebody willing to put (money) …the possibility of our rating upgrade is there,” Yes Bank’s managing director and chief executive Prashant Kumar told PTI in an interview here.
Kumar, a career SBI executive who was rushed to helm the recovery of the private bank in March 2020, said that Yes Bank’s rating has improved to ‘AA-‘ now from ‘D’ earlier.
Commenting on Yes Bank’s journey over the