SBI sells 13.19% stake in Yes Bank to Japan's SMBC for ₹8,889 cr; stock surges 2%

India’s largest PSU bank, SBI has approved divestment of a 13.19% stake in  Yes Bank to Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) for ₹8,889 crore.

The deal involves the sale of 413.44 crore Yes Bank shares at ₹21.50 per share.  “The Executive Committee of the Central Board (ECCB) of the Bank in the meeting held on 9th May, 2025 had accorded approval to divest 413,44,04,897 equity shares of Yes Bank Limited (YBL), being equivalent to 13.19% (approx.) of YBL shares to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), at Rs.21.50 per equity share, for a consideration of Rs 8888.97 crores approx.), subject to receipt of all regulatory and statutory approvals by the acquirer,” SBI said in an exchange filing.

On August 22, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved SMBC’s acquisition of up to a 24.99% stake in Yes Bank. Before that in May, YES Bank disclosed that SMBC has agreed to buy up to 24.99% stake in the Indian bank. SMBC's acquisition will mainly transpire through a secondary stake purchase of 13.19% from State Bank of India (SBI), while the remainder 6.81% would be acquired from other seven shareholders.

SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty says Yes Bank restructuring plan by RBI in 2020 was an innovative, first of its kind public sector – private sector partnership that was fully supported and facilitated by the government. "We are incredibly proud of the journey we have shared with Yes Bank in supporting their transformation since we came onboard as the major shareholder in 2020. This is perhaps the best example of protecting the customer interests of a large bank by collaborative efforts of SBI and other banks under the guidance of Government of India and RBI. We are excited to welcome SMBC, a marquee financial institution, as a strategic partner through the largest cross-border transaction in India’s banking sector. Their global expertise will be a great complement to Yes Bank’s ongoing progress and future ambitions”. 

Notably, Fortune India last week reported that Japan's SMBC plans to exit Kotak Mahindra Bank by divesting its full 1.65% shareholding in the private bank via block transactions.by selling its entire 1.65% stake in the private lender through block deals.

Amid the development, shares of YES Bank fell 0.24% to ₹20.95 on the BSE, while the equity benchmarks, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty, climbed over 0.29% and 0.24%, respectively. Shares of SBI are trading 2.09% up at ₹849.20 on the BSE at 2.05 pm, marginally down from its day's high of ₹849.80 on the BSE.

Once the deal is finalised, SMBC would become the largest investor in the bank, which could trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of YES Bank. The other banks such as Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and HDFC Bank, which stepped in to rescue Yes Bank in 2020, are also planning to offload their stake in the Mumbai-based lender.

For the April–June quarter of FY26, YES Bank reported a 59% growth in net profit at ₹801 crore compared to the year-ago period. Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter stood at ₹2,371 crore, up 5.7% YoY, aided by a reduction in the cost of funds. Net Interest Margin (NIM) for Q1 FY26 rose to 2.5% YoY. Non-tax provisions for the quarter were ₹284 crore, up 34% YoY.