RBL Bank recoups again

Six days ago, RBL had issued a long statement, reassuring all that there was nothing to panic when it come to their bank.

Yet, there was massive selling and the stock yesterday hit a new low at Rs.156.35 though it closed higher at Rs.162.90. Today, even before the issuance of this statement, RBL opened 2% higher at Rs.165.90 and rose to an intraday high at Rs.174.30, a jump of 7%.

And latest statement of assurance says:

In wake of the significantly higher level of market rumours and speculation around RBL Bank stock, we would like to reiterate what we said on March 11, 2020 and wish to reemphasize that RBL Bank is financially strong, well-capitalized, profitable, and a growing entity with a strong governance set-up. Market rumours around financial health and stability of the bank are totally misplaced, motivated and not based on facts.

It added, RBL Bank is well capitalized with a capital adequacy ratio of 16.08% with Tier-1 at 15.02% (Significantly higher than the prescribed regulatory requirement at 11.5% and 9.5% respectively). There has been no material adverse change in the asset quality since we announced our Q3 financial results on Jan 22, 2020 and our guidance remains consistent. (This is after taking into consideration our exposures to the south based client).

RBL said that while there has been no material impact on its retail deposits, there have been some withdrawals from institutional depositors and a couple of state government organizations constituting about 3% of its total deposits in the last one week. However this issue is being addressed by it on a one-on-one basis with the State Governments and also at the Industry levels by RBI.

The Bank said, “In spite of this, we remain highly liquid with significant retail deposits, institutional lines, refinance, and surplus liquid assets. All our business segments are doing well, we continue to expand presence across newer geographies by adding branches and are also hiring more people than previously planned. The management team of the Bank is fully committed to develop and grow the institution to the next level over the next several years. RBL Bank is committed to all its stakeholders and we would urge all our stakeholders to not believe unsubstantiated information and mischievous rumours.”