Five public sector banks, including the Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), and UCO Bank, are reducing government stake to below 75 percent to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) minimum public shareholding norms. Are planning. Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi gave this information.

Out of a total of 12 public sector banks, four have complied with the public shareholding rules by March 31, 2023. The Financial Services Secretary said that in the current financial year, three more PSBs have completed the compliance of a minimum 25 percent public shareholding. The remaining five public sector banks have planned to meet the MPS norms.

At present the government's stake in Delhi-based Punjab and Sindh Bank is 98.25 percent. The government's stake in Chennai's Indian Overseas Bank is 96.38 percent, in UCO Bank 95.39 percent, in Central Bank of India 93.08 percent, and in Bank of Maharashtra 86.46 percent. According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), all listed companies must follow public shareholding rules.
However, the regulator has given special exemptions to public sector banks. They have time till August 2024 to meet the rule of 25 percent public shareholding. Joshi said banks have several options to dilute stake, including FPO or qualified institutional placement. He said that depending on the market situation, each of these banks will decide on the best interest of the shareholders. Without giving any deadline, he said that efforts are on to fulfill this requirement.

Joshi said the Finance Ministry has directed all PSBs to review their gold loan portfolio as cases of non-compliance with regulatory norms have come to the notice of the government. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has written a letter to the heads of public sector banks asking them to review their systems and procedures related to gold loans.