IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank, Indian Bank share prices rally up to 4% amid CBI probe

IDBI Bank, Syndicate Bank and Indian Bank share prices rallied up to 4 per cent on the bourses even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked top officials of public sector banks in connection with a Rs 600-crore loan fraud. IDBI Bank share price advanced as much as 4.35 per cent to Rs 69.50, Syndicate Bank gained 3.96 per cent to Rs 55.10, while Indian Bank share price added 3.83 per cent to Rs 325.30 on the BSE. 

The CBI on Thursday booked top officials of two public sector banks, a former CMD of IDBI Bank, former Aircel promoter C Sivasankaran, his son and companies controlled by him in connection with a loan fraud case.  The CBI has named 15 bank officials who worked at senior levels at IDBI Bank in 2010 and 2014 when loans were sanctioned to the companies controlled by Sivasankaran in its FIR registered on a complaint from the Central Vigilance Commission, reported PTI, quoting officials. 

Managing Director and CEO of Indian Bank Kishor Kharat (who was then MD and CEO of IDBI Bank) and his counterpart in Syndicate Bank Melwyn Rego (then Deputy Managing Director in IDBI Bank), along with then Chairman-cum- Managing Director of IDBI Bank M S Raghavan have been named in the FIR. 

"It was also alleged that the loans were granted to the companies by IDBI Bank at its highest decision-making level comprising senior most management and even Independent Directors, disregarding the existing guidelines, instructions and procedures," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said. 

Subsequently, various conditions were relaxed or all together ignored. This led to an alleged loss of approximately Rs 600 crore to the bank and public exchequer, he said.

The case pertains to loans of Rs 322 crore and Rs 523 crore given to the companies of Sivasankaran, who was in the centre of Aircel Maxis probe for alleging that then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran had put pressure on him to sell his company to a Malaysian telecom tycoon, a case in which Maran brothers have been discharged by a special court.

The loans later turned non-performing assets or NPAs. The loan of Rs 322 crore was allegedly issued to Finland-based Win Wind Oy (WWO) by IDBI Bank in October, 2010 which turned into a non-performing asset three years later, the CBI has said in its FIR.