Yes Bank and the banker who could not say no

Rana Kapoor being investigated over alleged kickbacks while bank forced to seek rescue

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor arriving at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai earlier this month. PHOTO: REUTERS People waiting outside a Yes Bank branch to withdraw their money in Ahmedabad, India. Earlier this month, India's central bank im
People waiting outside a Yes Bank branch to withdraw their money in Ahmedabad, India. Earlier this month, India's central bank imposed a moratorium on the lender and restricted withdrawals. Yes Bank's stock price plunged 56 per cent, and panicked depositors rushed to withdraw their funds. PHOTO: REUTERS
Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor arriving at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai earlier this month. PHOTO: REUTERS People waiting outside a Yes Bank branch to withdraw their money in Ahmedabad, India. Earlier this month, India's central bank im
Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor arriving at the Enforcement Directorate office in Mumbai earlier this month. PHOTO: REUTERS
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Indian newspapers are having a field day with tortured puns about yes and no. The word play comes as Yes Bank, the fifth largest private lender, became the biggest banking failure in the nation's history.

Not only is Yes Bank being forcefully restructured by India's central bank, which is now scouring the market for investors to rescue it, but its founder Rana Kapoor - a man who once proudly declared that he has never said no to a borrower - is also under investigation for allegedly receiving kickbacks from dodgy companies.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 18, 2020, with the headline Yes Bank and the banker who could not say no. Subscribe