RBI raised violations at Yes Bank before denying term extension to Rana Kapoor: report

Private lender Yes Bank and the central bank exchanged at least eight letters related to the persistent governance and compliance failures at Yes Bank before the RBI decided to reject a request to extend Rana Kapoor's term by three years, Mint reported

The former Yes Bank chairman Ashok Chawla had a meeting with the Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel in order to discuss the re-appointment of Kapoor, whose term was ending in August, a person aware of the matter told Mint on condition of anonymity.

Chawla requested the governor to take an early decision on the re-appointment based on Kapoor’s record. Nearly 10 days after the meeting, the RBI sent a letter to Chawla denying an extension for Kapoor, said the report.

Out of the eight letters, in at least four, the central questioned the lender on “poor compliance culture”, “serious violations of statutory and regulatory guidelines between 2014-15 and 2017-18”, and “persistent governance and compliance failure”, according to documents reviewed by Mint.

Kapoor was among the founding members of Yes Bank, along with Ashok Kapur who died in 2008. As a promoter, Kapoor and his family own a 10.66 percent stake in the bank. He has been the bank's CEO since 2004.