| | AUGUST 20238Through the open market, a Mahindra group entity acquired nearly 4.9 percent of RBL Bank. If a single company's shareholding in a bank reaches five percent, the RBI must approve any additional stake purchases. RBL shares were up 4% on the BSE, trading at Rs 232 apiece. Mahindra Group has a presence in the financial services industry through its subsidiary Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services.In December 2021, in response to concerns about RBL Bank's financial health, the RBI appointed Chief General Manager Yogesh K Dayal as an additional director to RBL Bank's board, while then-CEO Vishwavir Ahuja took a leave of absence. Later, the bank's board of directors appointed Rajeev Ahuja as interim Managing Director and CEO. R Subramaniakumar, a banking veteran, is the current Managing Director and CEO of RBL Bank. He was the Managing Director & CEO and Board Chairman of Indian Overseas Bank before joining RBL Bank.RBL Bank, which is listed on both the BSE and the NSE, has over 500 branches across India.In the June quarter, the private lender reported a 43% increase in net profit to Rs 288 crore, aided by core income growth. The lender reported a 21% increase in core net interest income to Rs 1,246 crore, owing to strong growth in advances and expansion in net interest margin (NIM). This fiscal year, the bank plans to open approximately 70-75 branches.According to CEO Subramaniakumar, the bank is gradually shifting away from bulk deposits and towards granular deposits, which will also help expand margins. He also stated that RBL is not seeking to raise equity capital at this time, but may seek to raise funds through Tier-II bonds later in the year.Bharti Airtel's business-to-business (B2B) division has become the country's first ICT service provider to connect over 20 million devices using IoT solutions.Airtel IoT provides a secure and dedicated private network for the safe transmission of all customer data across connected devices to enterprises in industries such as automotive, energy, utilities, logistics, financial services, manufacturing, and many more."With efficient and cost-effective automated IoT solutions, we are at the forefront of empowering enterprises to extend their reach to the remotest parts of the country on our secure platform as they scale their businesses," said Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Airtel Business (India). With our innovative IoT solutions, we will continue to partner with enterprises to enable their digital transformation journey."Airtel Business's integrated IoT platform offers customised solutions for each IoT requirement of enterprises across 5G, 4G, narrowband-IoT (NBIoT), 2G, and satellite. MAHINDRA GROUP PURCHASES 4.9 PERCENT STAKE IN RBL BANKAIRTEL REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE OF CONNECTING 20 MILLION USERS VIA IOT SOLUTIONSIN FOCUSIN FOCUS
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