Private sector lender, Bandhan Bank, on Friday received an exemption from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to sell shares to bring down the shareholding of Non Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) in the bank to 40 percent.

On September 28, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had restrained Bandhan Bank from opening new branches and also ordered freezing of remuneration of its chief executive officer Chandra Shekhar Ghosh for not meeting the licensing conditions.

"Bandhan Bank Limited has informed the Exchange regarding 'to our intimation dated September 28, 2018, it is hereby informed that the Bank has received an exemption from the Securities and Exchange Board of India with respect to (i) lock-in of one year on the equity shares held by the promoter; and (ii) eligibility condition of one year from listing ; as required under regulations 36(b) and 82(b) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2009, respectively, in order to comply with the requirements of RBI Licensing Guidelines for Private Sector Banks issued on February 22, 2013," it said in filing to stock exchanges.

As per the bank's website, it has 937 branches in parts of the country. The Bandhan, a MFI, was given conditional approval by the RBI for setting up universal bank in April 2014.

Headquartered in Kolkata, Bandhan, which started as a micro-finance company in 2001, received banking licence by RBI in 2014. Besides Bandhan, the RBI had also given the banking licence to IDFC.

Bank's shares closed at Rs 468.85 apiece on BSE, down 0.42 percent.

First Published:Oct 12, 2018 3:55 PM IST