Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank gained over 7 percent on Wednesday to touch a fresh 52-week high of Rs 63.90. The upward movement in the company's share prices was recorded after the Reserve Bank of India's green signal to SBI Funds Management Ltd (SBIFML) for acquiring a stake in the lender.
SBIFML will be acquiring a 9.99 percent stake in Equitas Small Finance Bank.
In its approval, the RBI stated, "M/s SBI Funds Management Ltd (SBIFML) to acquire up to 9.99 percent of the paid-up equity capital of the Bank through the schemes of SBI Mutual Fund (SBIMF)."
Following RBI's approval, the process the acquire stakes will begin, subject to other approvals by authorities
Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank have been on an upward trend, growing over 50 percent in the last 6 months despite uncertainty in the bank's leadership. The bank's managing director PN Vasudevan had announced to step down from his role in May 2022, a decision that he withdrew last month.
The bank also reversed the merger with the parent with a revised share swap ratio of 100:231 in March 2022.
Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd in December 2022 announced an interest rate revision for savings, fixed deposits and recurring deposits both for domestic and non-resident (NRE/NRO) accounts. With the new interest rates, depositors can earn an interest rate of up to 8 percent on fixed deposits and 7.75 percent on recurring deposits. Furthermore, savings account customers, with deposits of Rs 5 to Rs 30 crore, could earn up to 7 percent interest.
