Bank rejects report of stake sale to Dubai-based lender
RBL Bank’s share price dropped by over 2% on July 2, 2025, after the bank denied a media report claiming that Dubai’s Emirates NBD Bank was planning to buy a minority stake. The share price fell to ₹253.87, ending a four-day upward trend. The Economic Times had reported that Emirates NBD, owned by the Dubai government, was interested in purchasing a minority stake in RBL Bank through a preferential allotment by investing fresh capital.
However, RBL Bank quickly issued a statement rejecting the news. The bank called the report “incorrect and speculative” and confirmed that it denies the contents. As per the data on the NSE, RBL Bank is a fully publicly owned bank and does not have any significant promoter or promoter group holding.
Apart from the denial, the price fall may also be due to profit booking. The stock has seen a sharp rise—up about 64% in the last six months and nearly 7% in the past five days. Currently, the bank has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of over 22, which shows it has been trading at higher valuations recently.
Brokerage firm remains positive despite the fall
Despite the recent dip, Citi Research continues to remain positive on the stock. The global brokerage firm recently put RBL Bank on a 90-day “positive catalyst watch,” suggesting it expects improvements in returns on assets (RoA). It has increased the target price from ₹230 to ₹285, which indicates an upside of around 8.7% from the earlier closing level.
Citi believes that the bank’s credit costs will start to normalize due to earlier provisioning in the joint liability and credit card segments. The firm expects RBL’s asset quality to improve in the coming quarter, with slippages falling to 4.5% from 4.7% in Q4 of FY25.
Overall, while the stock saw a short-term dip, experts remain optimistic about the bank’s future performance.
