According to insiders, his main goal in India is to speak to Yes Bank staff and reassure them of their responsibilities within the organization.
The next weeks will likely see Akihiro Fukutome, the worldwide president and chief executive officer of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), go to India. According to people with knowledge, Fukutome is supposed to speak to Yes Bank staff members and allay worries about their jobs and duties there. Following SMBC’s acquisition of a more than 24 percent interest in Yes Bank last week, this would be his first visit to India.
An SMBC email went unanswered, and a Yes Bank representative refused to respond.
Those with knowledge say that Fukutome’s trip will be highly important. Employees have been rather unsure about what would happen if SMBC takes over as the primary shareholder. According to someone with knowledge of the situation, Fukutome’s speech to the staff should allay the majority of these worries.
According to the persons named, the global CEO’s main goal in India is to interact with Yes Bank’s staff, reassure them of the bank’s future course, and provide them consolation over their employment. In addition to spending a significant amount of time in Mumbai, Fukutome will speak at a few town hall meetings and address staff members nationwide.
According to the persons quoted, Fukutome electronically addressed a small number of top management at Yes Bank earlier this week after purchasing a 24.2 percent stake last week, a procedure that began in May.
To put things in perspective, the bank laid off four important senior level employees in April of this year: Pankaj Sharma, Chief Strategy Officer; Sanjiv Roy, Head of Fee Business; Dhaval Shah, Head of SME Banking; and Akshay Sapru, Head of Affluent and Private Banking. This was all part of the bank’s strategic restructuring plan to increase operational efficiency and boost profitability.
It is known that Yes Bank’s attrition rate has been somewhat higher than normal since this experiment. Following the news of SMBC’s involvement in Yes Bank, staff confusion increased. To allay some of these worries, SMBC’s group president, Fukutome, met with a few top staff members earlier this week, according to a senior banker who wished to remain anonymous.
State Bank of India (SBI) said in May that it had reached an agreement to sell SMBC its 13.8% share in Yes Bank. Together with SBI, seven other banks participated in the selling process, including Axis Bank and Bandhan Bank, each of which had a roughly 1% interest. Later, on September 17, SMBC reported that it had completed the acquisition of a 24.2 percent share in Yes Bank, having already purchased a 4 percent holding from Carlyle. Rajeev Kannan and Shinichiro Nishino have been named by SMBC as nominated directors for the Yes Bank board.