Finance1 min read

Yes Bank bondholders press for compliance with Supreme Court's AT-1 order

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The investor action follows a top court verdict last month that affirmed a 2023 high court ruling nullifying the cancellation of the high-risk debt instruments. Axis Trustee Services filed the enforcement plea against the bank, select directors, and officials over their ongoing non-compliance with the restoration directive. The contested debt was originally eliminated during an RBI-directed rescue package that enforced a three-year share lock-in on existing equity holders. Meanwhile, the lender plans to counter the mandate through a review petition and does not anticipate restarting interest distributions.

Key points

  • Yes Bank has resisted reinstating the invalidated bonds and remains unlikely to resume co…: Yes Bank has resisted reinstating the invalidated bonds and remains unlikely to resume coupon payments to investors.
  • The legal confrontation continues as the bank prepares a review petition against the cour…: The legal confrontation continues as the bank prepares a review petition against the court judgment upholding the debt restoration.
  • Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation maintains an approximate 24% stake in the len…: Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation maintains an approximate 24% stake in the lender amid the intensifying legal standoff.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a 2023 Bombay High Court ruling that set aside Yes Bank's write-off of 84 billion rupees ($896.02 million) worth of AT-1 bonds, in a setback to the lender and regulators that had defended the move.

The ruling restored the bonds, which were written down as part of the bank's 2020 rescue led by the Reserve Bank of India.

Axis Trustee Services Ltd, acting on behalf of bondholders, said in the letter that it moved the Supreme Court on November 6 after the lender failed to provide a "concrete roadmap" for restoring or reactivating the bonds and implementing the court's judgment.

Yes Bank and Axis Trustee did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters reported last month that Yes Bank was preparing to file a review petition against the ruling and that it was unlikely to resume coupon payments on the securities.

The trustee said it was seeking court directions to enforce the ruling and restore the bonds as Yes Bank had not yet complied with the order. It alleged non-compliance…

Finance