“For prepaid and unpaid interest payments, according to the rules, coupon payments are at the discretion of the bank. I can’t pay,” he said.
“These are perpetual bonds and it is not mandatory to exercise call options,” he added.
In December 2016, the bank raised INR 300 crore AT-1 bond offering 9.5% coupon, followed by INR 5415 in October 2017 through AT-1 bond offering 9% coupon Did.
AT-1 bonds are high-risk instruments and can be redeemed with pre-specified triggers.
RBI’s lawyers argued that the provision would allow the bonds to be written off without requiring the consent of the bondholders when a moratorium was imposed on the bank in March 2020. RBI also informed the court that the purpose of writing off the bond was to protect his 2 million depositors.
“Bondholders enjoy higher coupons/interest year after year and cannot turn around by ignoring the terms of the contract,” RBI lawyers argued per court order. Bondholders’ claims prevail over those of investors in equities and less than those of depositors.”
Sanjay Sinha, former MD & CEO of AT-1 bond trustee Axis Trustee, said: The question is whether investors want to invest in this product after Yes Bank arbitrarily gave it a junior-over-equity status. “
However, if the Supreme Court upholds the order of the Bombay High Court, Yes Bank may be willing to enter into settlements with bondholders.
Bondholders allege that senior Yes Bank executives, then headed by Rana Kapoor, sold the bonds fraudulently. Sebi fined Kapoor he Rs 20 million while declaring the sale of bonds to individuals illegal.
