RBL Bank eyes large lender status on back of Emirates NBD’s $3 bn offer

RBL will be classified as the foreign bank’s listed Indian arm after proposed transaction

- SUBRATA PANDA

The $3 billion investment by UAE-based Emirates NBD PJSC for a 60 per cent stake will help RBL Bank expand in India and transform itself from a mid-sized lender into one of the country’s larger banks.

The bank plans to strengthen its corporate lending capabilities, enter wealth management business, accelerate retail loan growth, and leverage digital technology to tap the West Asia market, the management said on Sunday.

“We are now a mid-sized bank, and our aspiration is to move into the league of large banks. This provides us an enormous opportunity to move into that,” said R Subramaniakumar, managing director and chief executive officer of RBL Bank. He added that the bank’s distribution centres would now multiply, leading to greater mobilisation of deposits.

Subramaniakumar said the bank’s existing businesses would get a boost as it expands into new geographies. The bank is also expected to secure a fair share of the digital payments business along the West Asia-India corridor as a result of the investment.