SBI gets approval to buy 49% stake in Yes BankM

The country's largest lender State Bank of India on Thursday said it has received approval to buy Rs 7,250 crore worth of shares in crisis-hit Yes Bank.

"The executive committee of central board (ECCB) at its meeting held on March 11 accorded approval for purchase of 725 crore shares in Yes Bank at a price of Rs 10 per share subject to all regulatory approvals," SBI said in a regulatory filing.

The bank's shareholding in Yes Bank will remain within 49 per cent of the paid up capital of the private sector lender.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India had announced a draft scheme of reconstruction for cash-starved Yes Bank.

The scheme said the strategic investor in the bank will have to pick up 49 per cent stake and it cannot reduce holding to below 26 per cent before three years from the date of capital infusion.

The scheme was announced a day after the RBI imposed a moratorium on the bank, restricting withdrawals to Rs 50,000 per depositor till April 3.