Foreign funds can own 51% in IDBI Bank: Govt.

The government said it will allow a consortium of foreign funds and investment companies to own over 51 per cent in IDBI bank, clarifying that foreign ownership criteria was for new private banks and were not applicable on existing ones.

This comes ahead of the December 16 deadline for potential bidders to submit expressions of interest (EoIs) for picking up majority stake in the private sector lender.

“The residency requirement of the promoter, under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) guidelines, is in the context of new/prospective banks. However, as IDBI Bank is an existing company, for the purposes of the transaction, the said residency criteria will not apply to a consortium consisting of funds/investment vehicle incorporated outside India,” the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in response to a potential bidder’s queries.