Losers in banking licence race take a knock; fall up to 10%

Shares of banking licence aspirants today fell by as much as 10 per cent after the Reserve Bank granted in-principle approval for new bank licences to IDFC and Bandhan Financial Services.
L&T Finance Holdings slumped 9.71 per cent, while IFCI lost 8.51 per cent at the BSE.
Similarly, shares of SREI Infrastructure Finance tumbled 7.80 per cent, JM Financial plunged 7.68 per cent, Reliance Capital lost 4.51 per cent, Muthoot Finance (2.56 per cent) and LIC Housing Finance (1.37 per cent).
Ending days of suspense, the Reserve Bank yesterday granted banking licences to infrastructure financing firm IDFC and microfinance institution Bandhan from among 25 applicants that included corporate heavyweights ADAG Group, Aditya Birla Group and Bajaj Group.

The RBI agreed to consider the application of India Post in consultation with the government and advised other applicants to apply afresh after the central bank comes out with new guidelines on granting licences 'on tap'.
The bank licences were awarded a day after the Election Commission granted approval to the RBI to go ahead with the process.