Rana Kapoor is a co-founder and former managing director and chief executive of YES Bank. Born in 1957 in Delhi, Kapoor started his professional journey as a junior banker in Bank of America's Barakhamba branch in New Delhi.

 

Rana Kapoor's journey as a banker

 

Rana Kapoor started as a junior banker in Bank of America's Barakhamba branch. He worked with BoA for 16 years, until 1996. After his stint as the general manager and country head in ANZ Grindlays from 1996-1998, Kapoor joined his brother-in-law Ashok Kapur and Harkirat Singh to form Rabo India Finance, an NBFC in 1998. All the three partners had 25 per cent equity whereas the rest 75 per cent equity was with the Netherlands headquartered Rabobank. Ashok, Rana and Harkirat sold their equity in the venture in 2003 and got the license to set up a private sector bank in the same year. In 2004, YES Bank got off the ground. In September 2018, Yes Bank ordered Kapoor to step down as CEO in January 2019.

 

Rana Kapoor's fall and arrest

 

Kapoor was well-networked in the corporate sector and he found his niche in companies that were finding it difficult to get financing from other existing lenders. However, he lost the battle in FY17. This was the second time that YES Bank reported a gross divergence in bad loans of Rs 6,355 crore. In September 2018, he was asked to step down as the chairman of YES Bank and was replaced by Ravneet Gill.

 

After being grilled for more than 15 hours, Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor was placed under arrest by the Enforcement Directorate early on March 8, 2020, days after RBI seized control of the lender. The Enforcement Directorate claimed that Kapoor's crime amounts to around $581 million, and arrested him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Kapoor has denied all charges against him.

 

Rana Kapoor's personal life

 

Born and brought up in New Delhi, the banker is married to Bindu Kapoor. They have 3 daughters together - Radha, Rakhee and Roshini.

Rana Kapoor's education

 

He completed his schooling from Frank Anthony Public School, New Delhi in 1973 and went on to earn his BA degree from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University (1977).

 

He then got an MBA degree from Rutgers University in the US.

 

Awards and recognition

 

Rana Kapoor was named Ernst & Young's Start-up Entrepreneur of 2005. By 2017, he had become a billionaire with the rising share price of Yes Bank. He received an honorary fellowship from All India Management Association (AIMA), President's Medal from Rutgers University, an honorary PhD from GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology.

 

YES Bank crisis explained?

 

YES Bank’s loan book on March 31, 2014, was Rs 55,633 crore, and its deposits were Rs 74,192 crore. Since then, the loan book has grown to nearly four times as much, at Rs 2.25 trillion as on September 30, 2019. While deposit growth failed to keep pace and increased at less than three times to Rs 2.10 trillion. The bank’s asset quality also worsened and it came under regulator RBI’s scanner. YES Bank has substantial exposure to several troubled borrowers, including the Anil Ambani-led Reliance group, DHFL and IL&FS. The tipping point came when one of the bank’s independent directors Uttam Prakash Agarwal, resigned from the board in January 2020 citing governance issues.