RBI’s decision a part surprise: Former LVB Director

By Venkatachari Jagannathan Chennai, Nov 17 : The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to propose amalgamation of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS Bank India came partly as a surprise, said an outgoing Director of LVB.
“The RBI could have done this earlier. Now it has come as a part surprise,” Sakti Sinha, member of LVB Board of Directors that was superceded by RBI on Tuesday.
Sinha said apart from Clix group that comprises Clix Capital Services Private Ltd, Clix Finance India Private Ltd and Clix Housing Finance Private Ltd – two other NBFCs and private banks showed interest in the 96-year old private bank.
According to Sinha, the deal with Clix didn’t happen because of differences in valuation.
Further, the RBI might not have approved the same as the lending policy of NBFC and that of the central bank does not go together, Sinha said.
In a regulatory filing last month, the LVB said it has received an indicative non-binding offer from Clix Group but did not share any other details about the offer.