Yes Bank Paid Off Entire SLF Dues of Rs 50000 Cr to RBI

Yes Bank has fully repaid the Rs 50,000 crore provided by RBI as a special liquidity facility (SLF) amid the crisis faced by the lender earlier this year, its Chairman Sunil Mehta said on Thursday.

He further said FY21 will be a year of transition for the bank, which has just come out of an unprecedented Rs 10,000 crore bailout led by SBI after setbacks received under the founding team.

The government and RBI had replaced the entire board of the lender in March this year and also stopped depositors from accessing their funds for a few days.

A new management was installed, the restrictions were lifted and it also completed a Rs 15,000-crore capital raise during the pandemic which will help it restart lending operations.

"I am pleased to report that the bank has fully repaid SLF of Rs 50,000 crore to the RBI on September 8, well before the due date," Mehta told shareholders at the bank's annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually on Thursday.

"FY 2020-21 will be a year of transition, as we battle the health and economic impact of COVID-19 and simultaneously re-invent ourselves as a nation," he asserted.

Strong governance is one of the three key pillars of sustainable growth the bank is working on, Mehta said.

There were allegations of corporate governance lapses and other practices at Yes Bank which led to financial losses.

"We must continue to strengthen and augment our oversight along with governance and risk management practices," Mehta said, acknowledging that strong corporate governance is key to success of an institution.

The bank's new board has put in place a framework to ensure risks are identified, evaluated and addressed appropriately, he said, making it clear that much of the work undertaken is not only to meet regulatory requirements but to make the lender stronger, agile and efficient.

The other key pillars for sustainable growth are driving operational excellence through digitisation and strong governance and risk frameworks, he said.