Ahead of FM meet, Yes Bank feels scope of 25 bps rate cut

We have full visibility of a 25 bps base rate cut at Yes Bank very soon, says Rana Kapoor, MD & chief executive

A day ahead of a meeting between Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and top bankers, private sector lender Yes Bank today joined its peers in promising to deliver a rate cut soon.

"We have full visibility of a 25 bps base rate cut at Yes Bank very soon," the lender's managing director and chief executive Rana Kapoor told reporters here today.

Kapoor said that he has also been invited for the meeting with Jaitley on Friday morning and added that calling private sector bankers is a good move by the ministry.

The bank's larger rival HDFC Bank had yesterday said a majority of lenders will be cutting rates by Friday on deposit rate cuts and sluggish credit growth, which is leaving them with high liquidity.

According to reports, agenda for the meeting includes persuading the banks to pass the benefits of the rate cuts by RBI to the borrowers in a bid to give a fillip to economic growth.

Reserve bank has cut the repo rate by a cumulative 0.75 per cent this year. While some banks have cut their rates, the extent of the cuts does not equal the benefits.

Yes Bank has not cut its base rate at all.

"This is an Alco (asset liability committee) decision and I think there are enough reasons to believe that base rate cuts are around the corner, including in our bank," Kapoor said today.

On the bank's USD 1 billion capital raising plan, for which its AGM passed enabling resolution last week, Kapoor hinted that the money will be raised in a mix of QIP and ADR issues but will be done in this fiscal itself.

However, the exercise hinges on the development of lot of factors, including the macroeconomic climate, he said.

"We have to see the macroeconomic improvement, we have to see interest environment become more conducive, we need to see a pick up in credit growth, we need to see our market share grow," Kapoor said, adding that he has returned from a non-deal roadshows in the US recently.

When asked about the case filed by Madhu Kapur, wife of the bank's co-promoter Ashok Kapur, against him in the Bombay High Court, Kapoor said the "overwhelming support" was received from shareholders on the resolutions moved by the management at the recent AGM.

"The professional interests of the board, management, stakeholders are aligned together otherwise shareholders will not vote 99.97 per cent," he said.