Dubai-based Emirates NBD has completed its acquisition of a 60% majority stake in RBL Bank, injecting $2.75 billion (₹26,000 crore) directly into the bank to close the deal.
The transaction breaks three records: it is the largest Foreign Direct Investment ever recorded in the Indian banking sector, the largest single equity fundraise ever completed by an Indian bank, and the first instance of a foreign entity acquiring a controlling majority stake in a profitable, established Indian bank.
RBI has historically kept foreign ownership of Indian private banks tightly capped and majority stakes were virtually never permitted. This deal marks a departure from that decades-long stance.
The rationale, per the post, is India's approaching multi-trillion-dollar corporate credit and infrastructure cycle, which will require mid-tier banks to access deep, global pools of capital to fund growth.
