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IDBI Bank Deal
Amid the row over divestment of IDBI Bank, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday took on the Congress party and the previous UPA government, alleging they used banks and financial institutions as "personal entities" and pressured bank employees to extend loans at their whim, bypassing prudent lending norms. In a post on X, the Finance Minister also cited several instances from the Congress-led government, including the removal of SBI Chairman R K Talwar in 1976 under Indira Gandhi's rule after he allegedly refused to give in to political pressure to relax lending norms for a company linked to Sanjay Gandhi. She was responding to a post on X by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on IDBI Bank. On the remarks made by Rahul Gandhi, Sitharaman said, "IDBI Bank was handed over to us in poor shape, as IDBI itself was forced to lend to large business groups with close connections to @INCIndia leaders such as Videocon, Winsome, ABG Shipyard, and Kingfisher. "These turned into bad .
Amid the IDBI bank disinvestment row, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has expressed solidarity with the bank employees and questioned the government's decision to sell off the profitable public bank to a Canadian firm. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asserted that public banks are not assets to be sold off, they are tools to build the nation. In a letter addressed to members of the IDBI Bank family, Gandhi said that in March last year, a group of IDBI bank employees came to meet him in Parliament House and asked him a simple question as to why the government is selling a bank that they had made profitable. "I took that question to the Lok Sabha. I asked why a profitable public bank was being sold and how its employees and depositors would be protected. The government gave no reason. Now it has decided to sell IDBI Bank to Fairfax, a Canadian company," Gandhi said. Noting that IDBI began as a pioneering development bank, he said the journey to a commercial bank has been ...
Global rating agency Moody's on Monday said it expects Fairfax Financial Holdings' proposed acquisition of a majority stake in IDBI Bank to have limited impact on its financial leverage, citing the Canadian investor's funding plans and strong liquidity position. As of June 30, 2026, Fairfax's financial leverage stood at around 34 per cent, which declined to 27 per cent after excluding non-recourse debt at its non-insurance companies, Moody's said in a statement. The rating agency noted that it does not expect a significant increase in Fairfax's financial leverage, given its funding plans for the transaction. Moody's also highlighted Fairfax's policy of maintaining at least USD 1 billion in cash and liquid investments at the holding company at all times, a practice it expects the company to continue after the transaction. As of June 30, 2026, Fairfax had USD 2.3 billion in cash and liquid investments at the holding company, providing it with a liquidity cushion as it pursues the ...
The finance ministry on Saturday said the legislative history of the IDBI (Repeal) Act, 2003, a Delhi High Court judgement and successive Union Budget speeches reflect the evolution of its policy towards the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank. The Cabinet earlier this week approved strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank by selling 60.72 per cent stake to Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings for about Rs 53,000 crore (USD 5.5 billion). The deal is the largest foreign investment in India's financial sector so far and a major milestone in the country's banking privatisation drive. In a clarification on the legislative developments regarding reduction in government holding in IDBI Bank, the ministry said the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018, held that the IDBI (Repeal) Act, 2003, contained no prohibition against reducing the government's stake in IDBI Bank Ltd. It may be recalled that during the Union Budget, 2003, discussions and the parliamentary debate on the IDBI (Repeal) Act, .
The strategic transaction of IDBI Bank is expected to be completed by the end of the current financial year, subject to regulatory clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla has said. The successful bidder will submit its technical papers to the RBI and present its credentials, including details required to meet additional compliance and regulatory requirements, he told PTI. After the RBI clears the successful bidder, he said, the share purchase agreement will be signed, paving the way for the transaction to be completed before the end of the current financial year. Addressing concerns over the interests of minority and retail shareholders, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary assured that their interests would be fully protected as part of the transaction. After the share purchase agreement is signed, the strategic buyer will be required to make an open offer to minority shareholders, providing them an ...