Congress demands judicial probe into takeover of Yes Bank by a foreign bank

Indian Express

3 days ago

Maharashtra Congress on Friday demanded a judicial probe into the Yes Bank crisis and its takeover by Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), which recently bought a 20 per cent stake in the former by investing up to Rs 13,000 crore.
'SMBC has already invested approximately Rs 13,000 crore for a 20 per cent stake in Yes Bank and is now preparing to invest an additional Rs 30,000 crore to gain majority control (51 per cent). This effectively means a full foreign takeover of one of India's key private sector banks. The entire transaction should be investigated by a court and Yes Bank should not be allowed to go into the hands of a foreign bank,' Congress leader Vishwas Utagi said.
Utagi said Yes Bank was once on the brink of collapse and was rescued under the doctrine of 'Too big to fail' by the RBI and the central government, using public money through the SBI and eight private sector banks. 'If the crisis warranted public investment, why is the ownership now being handed over to a foreign bank? In whose interest is this move being made,' he asked, raising questions on the role of the RBI as a banking regulator, the role of the Ministry of Finance and the central government and SEBI's role as market regulator.
'A whistleblower's forensic audit report of Yes Bank (2014–2025) is now in the public domain. This report, shockingly ignored by all authorities concerned, exposes major financial misgovernance, manipulation of the balance sheet, questionable NPA sales to ARCs, and showing non-accrued income as profit — a scam in the making,' he alleged.
Along with the judicial probe, Utagi demanded 'full disclosure' of the whistleblower's forensic audit report. 'This raises fears that other Indian banks like IDBI Bank and PSU banks could be the next targets, especially when banking is the backbone of the Indian economy. If Yes Bank — a major private sector bank — is allowed to be hijacked, no Indian bank is safe,' the Congress leader said.