Ashok Kapur Family Expresses Full Faith In Yes Bank

The Ashok Kapur family on Wednesday affirmed full support to Yes Bank Ltd., following co-promoter Rana Kapoor's near complete exit from the private sector lender.

"We stand firmly behind Yes Bank and have complete and full faith in the leadership and management of the bank," Ashok Kapur's daughter Shagun Gogia told PTI.

The family's ownership is over 8.7 percent and very miniscule part of it is pledged, she said.

The level of the pledge, which has proven to be the undoing for the Rana Kapoor family, has been unchanged for the last decade, she added.

The Kapoor family has nearly exited its holding in the bank, within months of the expulsion co-promoter and chief executive Rana Kapoor by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year.

Kapoor, who had famously likened his holding in the bank to precious diamonds, was denied extension by the RBI due to concerns on governance.

Meanwhile, an asset manager on Tuesday fully invoked the 3.92 percent stake pledged by Kapoor, leading to a sharp fall in Yes Bank share price.

The shares ended at Rs 32.20 on Tuesday, down 22.22 percent in a single trading session. Yes Bank shares had touched a peak of Rs 404 in August 2018 and slid to Rs 194.10 on Jan. 31, Kapoor's last day at the bank.

Kapoor's holding has plummeted from levels of over 9 percent in January, leading to worries beyond shareholders as well. The RBI on Tuesday came out with a statement saying the country's banking system is safe.

After the death of Yes Bank co-founder Ashok Kapur in the November 2008 terror strikes in Mumbai, Rana Kapoor had dragged the next of kin to court. There were reports of the two promoter families, who are related, reaching a truce in the days leading to Kapoor's exit.

An asset manager sold off Kapoor's 3.92 percent holding of the bank pledged with it as a security in the face of the falling prices.

This event came after the Kapoor family had sold off nearly 4 percent of its holding to pay off lenders. It paid nearly Rs 800 crore to Reliance Nippon Asset Management Company alone.