RBI withdraws permission to open new branches of Bandhan Bank
Kolkata, Sep 28 : Private-lender Bandhan Bank on Friday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has withdrawn its general permission to open new branches and frozen the remuneration of the lender's MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh till further notice as it failed to comply with a licensing condition.
"RBI has communicated to us that since the Bank was not able to bring down the shareholding of Non Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) to 40 per cent, as required under the licensing condition, general permission to open new branches stands withdrawn and the Bank can open branches with prior approval of RBI and the remuneration of the MD & CEO of the Bank stands frozen at the existing level, till further notice," it said in a regulatory filing.
The Bank is taking necessary steps to comply with the licensing condition to bring down the shareholding of NOFHC in the Bank to 40 per cent and shall continue to engage with the RBI in this regard, it added.
According to RBI's new banking licensing norms, any bank offering "universal" services will have to bring down the promoter holding to 40 per cent in three years from the date of commencement of business.
Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank, which was the first instance in the country of a microfinance entity transforming in to a universal bank, completed three years of operations this August.
Bandhan Financial Holdings Ltd (BFHL), the promoting entity of Bandhan Bank, is owned by Bandhan Financial Services Ltd (BFSL). The promoter holding in the bank currently stands at around 82 per cent after a successful Initial Public Offer (IPO) launched in March this year.
Before IPO, the promoter holding in the bank was nearly 89 per cent.
Significantly, the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's rules mandate one year's lock-in period for promoter holding after an IPO.
Ghosh was unavailable to comment on the RBI restrictions. Sources in the bank, however, said the restrictions imposed on the new branch expansion "will not impact its present operation".
According to information available in the bank's website, it has 937 branches and 2,764 doorstep service centres.
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Sri Rama Sene’s Ugadi wishes banner featuring PM Modi, Netanyahu in Belagavi goes viral, sparks row
Banner put up in response to earlier banners condemning killing of Khamenei in the city
A banner allegedly erected by Sri Rama Sene’s Belagavi unit, featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has drawn criticism amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The banner featured an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and also included a depiction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during the killing of Afzal Khan.
The development comes at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is blocked and LPG shortages are being reported across several sectors in the country.
The banners were reportedly placed at Samrat Ashoka Circle in the city.
Several users on the social media platform ‘X’ criticised the poster.
Sriram Sena puts up Netanyahu banners in Belagavi opposing Khamenei posters pic.twitter.com/y5b8kGe09O
— All About Belgaum | Belagavi News (@allaboutbelgaum) March 16, 2026
One user wrote, “Does Sena know he has been convicted by the International Criminal Court?”
“If Iran learns about this, then you're done for,” another user said.
According to reports, the banners were erected in opposition to banners condemning the killing of Ali Khamenei that had appeared earlier in the city.
In an ‘X’ post, Sri Rama Sene Founder Pramod Muttalik, stated, “there was a call to remove the photo of Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei in Belgaum. However, since the corporation did not remove it, today Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is depicted as disemboweling Afzal Khan, and banners of the Israeli president and Modi were put up.”
ಬೆಳಗಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿನ ಇರಾನ ಸರ್ವಾದಿಕಾರಿ ಖಮೇನಿ ಪೊಟೋ ತೆರವುಗಳಿಸಲು ಆಗ್ರಹಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಪೊರೆಷನ ತೆರವುಗೊಳಿಸದ ಕಾರಣ ಇಂದು ಛತ್ರಪತಿಶಿವಾಜಿಮಹಾರಾಜರು ಅಫ್ಜಲ್ ಖಾನನ ಹೊಟ್ಟೆ ಹರಿದಿದ್ದು ಮತ್ತು ಇಸ್ರೆಲ ಅದ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಮತ್ತು ಮೋದಿ ಅವರಬ್ಯಾನರ ಹಾಕಲಾಯಿತು #Netanyahu #chhatrapatiShivajiMaharaj #Belgaum #PramodMutalik pic.twitter.com/GUlHv2QadU
— Pramod Mutalik Official (@PramodMuta39880) March 16, 2026
Meanwhile local reports suggest that such banners were placed in different parts of the city including RTO circle and Killa Circle.
When Varta Bharathi contacted Belagavi City Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, for a comment, he refused to comment on the matter.
