The Reserve Bank of India has come out with elaborate norms for shareholding limits in private sector banks as these banks need to raise additional capital for implementing Basel III regulations and to rationalize ownership limits. RBI has stipulated the ownership limits for all shareholders under two categories – natural persons (individuals) and legal persons (entities/institutions). Also separate limits have been stipulated for non-financial and financial institutions and among financial institutions, for diversified and non-diversified financial institutions. The shareholding limit for natural persons (individuals) and non-financial institutions/entities has been set at 10% each. In both the cases, if any promoter is eligible for higher shareholding as per the licensing guidelines, then the same will apply and the limits prescribed for all shareholders in the long run in the matrix will not apply.
