A born-again bank! Fairfax deal a shot in arm for CSB's turnaround strategy

Fairfax's interest in CSB reaffirms this growth strategy

Last year, when Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) tried to raise money from investors, it could not garner much interest. A year later, however, CBS has managed to pull off a Rs 12 billion commitment from Canadian-billionaire Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax for a strategic 51 per cent stake.

The deal, announced in February, will pave the way for the first take-over of an Indian bank by a foreign non-banking financial entity since the ownership norms were tweaked to allow such a structure in May last year.

Interestingly, Watsa had turned down a proposal for investment in CSB in 2017. A year