Sabre likely to exit CBoP; ICICI, HDFC Bank, IDFC may join race

Centurion Bank of Punjab (CBoP) is back in news. The word is out that the private sector bank, where Rana Talwar’s Sabre Capital has the management control, is in talks with some of the financial institutions and large banks for a possible merger. However, indications are that CBoP is in no hurry to complete a deal. New generation banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are also believed to be interested in CBoP, but this was denied by ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. ICICI Bank may have shown an interest to increase its presence in the North and pockets of southern India. For HDFC Bank, acquiring CBoP would give it a more extensive branch network than ICICI. Sabre’s moves may be driven by concerns that policy makers would take a long time in allowing foreign banks to acquire local banks.