Will never sell my shares in Yes Bank even after demitting office, says CEO and MD Rana Kapoor

Mumbai: Rana Kapoor, the embattled co-promoter and chief executive of Yes Bank, Friday said he does not intend to sell his holding in the private sector lender. Following the Reserve Bank decision on September 19 to curtail Kapoor’s term as managing director and chief executive to 31 January,2019 from the three-year sought by the board, Yes Bank shares have plunged over 40 percent. “Even after I demit office as the MD and CEO of Yes Bank, I will never ever sell my shares,” Kapoor wrote on his handle on the microblogging site Twitter Friday. [caption id=“attachment_3858755” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Yes Bank MD & CEO Rana Kapoor. AFP[/caption] Kapoor said his holding will be bequeathed to his three daughters and added that he will make a request in his will not to sell a single share in the bank. “My promoter shares of Yes Bank are invaluable to me,” Kapoor, who is not regular on the microblogging site unlike other industry captains, wrote. The assertion comes amid reports of Madhu Kapur, the legal heir of the deceased co-promoter Ashok Kapur, selling 7 lakh shares of the bank representing 0.04 percent in the open market on September 21 amid the heavy slide in share price. The sale has brought down Kapur’s shareholding to 9.28 percent, while Kapoor’s stands at 10.66 percent. Earlier this week, the Yes Bank board decided to seek an extension of up to eight months beyond the trimmed down period of 31 January, 2019 for Kapoor to stay on so that the bank could find a successor and meet other regualtory demands of closing the financial accounts for the year. It also established a search and selection committee comprising three members from the existing nomination and remuneration committee along with two external experts to identify Kapoor’s successor.

In this leadership transition at @YESBANK, I continue to remain fully committed to the interests of the Bank and all its stakeholders. I will be fully guided by the Board of Directors of YES BANK and the Reserve Bank of India

— Rana Kapoor (@RanaKapoor_) September 28, 2018

To ensure a long-term succession plan, the board elevated senior group presidents Rajat Monga, who handles financial management, and Pralay Mondal, who heads the focus area of retail, as executive directors. After the RBI move, Madhu Kapur wrote to the board asking Kapoor to be sent on leave till January 31 to ensure a fair search. She has also demanded a forensic audit of loans sanctioned under Kapoor’s leadership. The bank had last week disclosed that RBI has said Kapoor may continue to head the bank only till end January 2019, curtailing his term by nearly two and half years. The board had reappointed him for a period of three years starting September 2018. Kapoor is the second chief executive at a private sector lender after Shikha Sharma of larger rival Axis Bank to face a curtailment of terms. Both the banks were found to have underreported non-performing assets by over Rs 10,000 crore each for two consecutive years in regulatory audits conducted by the Reserve Bank. The RBI move has not gone down well with the investors and the bank stock has seen steep selling in all the trading sessions since the disclosure was made. Yes Bank scrip continued its slide and plunged 9.50 per cent to Rs 183.90 a piece on the BSE Friday. Adding to the trouble was the decision of the foreign brokerage Citigroup to remove it form its model portfolio.