Image credit: Dubai Media Office/Website
Middle Eastern bank Emirates NBD will buy a 60 per cent stake in Indian private lender RBL Bank for $3bn, in the largest cross-border acquisition in India’s financial sector.
Emirates NBD will invest INR268.5bn Indian rupees ($3.05bn) in the bank through a preferential issue of shares, RBL Bank said in a statement to exchanges.
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The deal is among a series of cross-border deals in India this year, and comes months after Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s move to buy up to 25 per cent of Yes Bank.
UAE banks have also been considering cross-border expansions in the region and further afield. Both ENBD and Abu Dhabi’s FAB have been expanding their presence in markets like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Tapping India’s fast-growing financial sector
“This investment reflects ENBD’s confidence in India’s fast-growing financial sector, reinforcing India’s strategic importance within the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” the banks said in a joint statement after the deal was announced.
The lender, which is entirely owned by retail shareholders and investment funds, said the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
India allows 74 per cent foreign investment in private banks but limits shareholdings of any single foreign institution to 15 per cent unless regulator the Reserve Bank of India grants an exemption. The RBI has informally communicated its backing for the ENBD deal, Reuters has reported.
As part of the deal, Emirates NBD will also launch an open offer for additional shares from retail shareholders in line with India’s takeover regulations. They will be offered at INR280 per share, according to an investor presentation by RBL Bank.
As per these rules, an acquisition of more than 25 per cent shares in a company requires the acquirer to offer to buy another 26 per cent from retail shareholders.
Emirates NBD will ensure its shareholding does not go beyond the overall 74 per cent foreign investment limit, the exchange announcements from both banks said.
The Dubai-based lender will be designated the “promoter” of RBL Bank, a regulatory classification in India used for large shareholders with management control. It will also have the right to nominate directors to the RBL Bank board, subject to regulatory approvals.
Anand Dama, head of financial sector research at Mumbai-based brokerage Emkay Global Capital Financial Services, said the acquisition “will open up flood gates for more such investments into small- and mid-sized banks in the country”.
Pan-India presence
RBL Bank’s former CEO Vishwavir Ahuja resigned abruptly in 2021 after the Indian central bank appointed an additional director to its board, a step typically taken to increase scrutiny on a bank.
Since then, the bank has seen a management change and earnings have stabilised.
Its stock has soared 90 per cent so far in 2025 against an 8 per cent gain in India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index.
As of March 2025, RBL Bank had assets of INR1.46trn ($16.61bn), making it the 13th largest of 21 private banks in the country.
The lender has 15.17 million customers and a network of 562 branches across 28 Indian states and union territories.
“The infusion will significantly strengthen RBL Bank’s balance sheet, enhance its Tier-1 capital ratio, and provide long-term growth capital,” the banks said in the press release.
Investors will watch to see if a combined Emirates NBD-RBL Bank, with so much capital at its disposal, would look at more acquisitions in banking, Dama said.
Emirates NBD, which is majority-owned by Dubai’s government, had assets worth $297bn as of end-June. Together with other UAE banks, it has benefited in recent years from rising demand for credit and government-driven investment in non-oil sectors.
It has operations in countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, where it acquired DenizBank in 2019.
