Suryoday Small Finance Bank’s MD & CEO, Baskar Babu Ramachandran, sold 50 lakh shares of the Bank on Friday for about ₹55.44 crore to close a loan availed by him for exercising warrants in order to maintain the promoter’s stake at the minimum of 26 per cent for the first 5 years (up to January 22, 2022) as per RBI regulations.

Post this transaction, the total promoter group holding stands at 23.30 per cent and the MD & CEO’s individual holding stands at 5.94 per cent, as per the bank’s exchange filing.

Ramachandran emphasised that he still holds 63,01,911 shares amounting to 5.94 per cent after aforementioned sale, of which 62.40 lakh shares are pledged. Prior to the sale of shares, his shareholding was at 10.65 per cent.

Post this transaction, the total promoter group holding is 2,47,34,732 shares, amounting to 23.30 per cent of which the pledged shareholding is 5.88 per cent of the total shares outstanding, according to the filing.

“As a first-generation entrepreneur and promoter, all my holdings in the bank have been through direct investment and subscription of warrants through borrowings. The borrowing arrangements entered into by me for subscription of warrants were fully and transparently disclosed in the RHP leading to the bank’s IPO.

“At the time of availing the loans for exercise of warrants, the value of the security cover of the shares pledged was substantially higher and the bank’s share price has been impacted for various reasons since its listing in March 2021,” he said in his intimation to the bank’s Compliance Officer.

Ramachandran underscored that he always intended to maintain a meaningful individual stake in the bank but had to sell these shares to pre-close the loan availed which was due for maturity.

“I continue to remain committed to building a world-class financial services institution that is focused on financial inclusion, customer service, total transparency and highest standards of corporate governance. The bank has been able to overcome the challenges post Covid and is now on a solid path for delivering consistent performance,” he said.