Yes Bank has repaid special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore to RBI: Chairman

Yes Bank has repaid the special liquidity facility (SLF) of Rs 50,000 crore to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 8, well before the due date, chairman Sunil Mehta said at the bank’s annual general meeting on Thursday. He added that the bank is working on three pillars of sustainable growth – driving operational excellence through digitisation, strong governance and risk frameworks – and sharing success with stakeholders.

“The board of directors of the bank recognises that 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 the success of an institution, the board has identified ‘culture of compliance’ as a key asset that it needs to nurture and cherish.

Mehta referred to the RBI discussion paper on improving the quality of governance and empowering the board of directors to set the culture and values of the institution, identify and manage conflicts of interest, manage risks while also improving the supervisory oversight of senior management.

In order to ensure effective risk management practices which benefit all stakeholders, the board has ensured that efficient risk frameworks are put in place so that risks are identified, evaluated and addressed appropriately, Mehta said. “Much of the work undertaken is not only to meet regulatory requirements, but to make the bank stronger, agile and efficient,” he added.

Mehta said after Yes Bank’s follow-on public offer, its pro-forma common equity tier (CET) 1 ratio has doubled to 13.4% from 6.6% at the end of June 2020, bringing its capitalisation largely in line with peers from the private sector. “The significantly-improved solvency ratio strengthens the bank’s resilience to potential asset quality risks resulting from the impact of the economic slowdown and Covid-related disruptions on the India’s economy,” he said.