CORPORATE
ENBD to snap up 60% in RBL Bank for Rs 26,853 cr in largest financial sector deal
- IBJ Bureau
- Oct 19, 2025
Emirates NBD (ENBD) will buy a 60 per cent stake in private lender RBL Bank for Rs 26,853 crore. This is the largest cross-border acquisition in the country’s financial sector.
ENBD will invest Rs 26,853 crore in the bank through a preferential issue of shares, RBL Bank has said in a statement to stock exchanges.
The deal is among a series of cross-border transactions in India this year and comes months after Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s move to buy up to 25 per cent of Yes Bank.
UAE banks have also been considering cross-border expansions in the region and farther afield. Both ENBD and Abu Dhabi’s FAB have been expanding their presence in markets like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
“This investment reflects ENBD’s confidence in the country’s fast-growing financial sector, reinforcing India’s strategic importance within the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor,” the banks have said in a joint statement after the deal was announced.
RBL Bank, which is entirely owned by retail shareholders and investment funds, has said that the deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
India allows 74 per cent foreign investment in private banks but limits shareholdings of any single foreign institution to 15 per cent unless regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) grants an exemption. The RBI has informally communicated its backing for the ENBD deal, Reuters has reported.
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