Yes Bank on Tuesday denied reports of buying Spandana Sphoorthy. Issuing clarification, the lender said it has a strategic intent to augment business in the priority sector through organic and inorganic means. However, it said that the news item captioned “YES Bank evaluating Spandana Sphoorthy for acquisition” is completely based on media/market speculations.

"Towards this and as also in the usual and ordinary course of its business, bank continues to explore various alternatives including tie-ups and partnership opportunities, joint ventures, strategic investments, portfolio buy-outs, merger, and acquisition opportunities," the lender said.

Earlier, Hindu Businessline reported that YES Bank had been actively considering acquiring a stake in the company.

Last month, Spandana Sphoorty had denied reports of private equity major Kedaara Capital looking to sell off its stake in the microfinance lender to Yes Bank are "incorrect and speculative." The Hyderabad-based company, specialising in rural loans reiterated that its board and corporate promoter remain committed to delivering the business plan under Vision 2025, which was approved by the board of directors in July 2022. It further said that all steps are being taken to achieve the plan.

At the time of writing this report, Yes Bank shares were trading 0.65 percent upper at Rs 17.08 apiece.

In another development, Yes Bank recently launched UPI payments through RuPay Credit Cards. Customers can now link their YES BANK RuPay Credit Card with UPI-enabled apps like BHIM, PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Slice, MobiKwik, and PayZapp, among others. Once linked, the customers can make credit card-based transactions with added security.

(Edited by : Anshul)

First Published:Aug 1, 2023 2:55 PM IST