Indian criminal investigators have accused Yes Bank’s co-founder Rana Kapoor of receiving illicit kickbacks in 2018 to provide funds to a now bankrupt housing finance company, raising new questions about the troubled institution’s lending practices, the Financial Times reported. Mr Kapoor — who was forced to stand down as Yes Bank chief executive and managing director in early 2019 amid growing governance concerns — was arrested on Sunday morning, just days after the Reserve Bank of India seized control of the lender he founded.

Of all the private banks set up during India’s go-go-years early in the new millennium, Yes Bank was the most ambitious and aggressive, the Financial Times reported. Founded by two career banking professionals who married sisters, Yes Bank had a reputation for taking risks spurned by India’s more conservative private lenders. Initially the scale of its ambitions — as embodied by flamboyant managing director Rana Kapoor — made it a darling among foreign investors, who provided Yes with a tide of growth capital as they looked to bet big on India’s economic ascent.

Global rating agency Standard and Poor’s has downgraded ratings for Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd to 'D' — default grade on missing to make interest payment on securities issued by its subsidiary, Business Standard reported. The company failed to make the interest payment on its guaranteed 2022 senior unsecured notes issued by its subsidiary Jain International Trading BV. The interest payment was due on February 1, 2020, and the 30-day grace period ended on March 3, 2020, S&P said in a statement.

India seized the beleaguered Yes Bank Ltd., capped withdrawals and imposed curbs on its operations, pledging to implement a rescue plan within 30 days as the lender’s woes threatened to destabilize the financial system, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank of India ordered the lender not to extend new loans or make payments for its liabilities, according to a statement. It also curbed withdrawals to 50,000 rupees ($682) for the next 30 days. The overthrow of Yes Bank’s board will help authorities implement a revival plan after numerous attempts by the lender to raise capital failed.

India's largest stainless steel manufacturer Jindal Stainless on Thursday said it has successfully exited from corporate debt restructuring after it paid more than Rs 800 crore to its lenders, Business Today reported. The firm had entered the CDR framework back in 2009.

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted Rajahmundry Godavari Bridge, a subsidiary of Gammon Infrastructure, for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), The Financial Express reported. Vishal Ghisulal Jain has been appointed as the resolution professional for the process. The company (RGBL) had entered into a concessions agreement with Andhra Pradesh Road Development Corporation (APRDC) for design, construction, finance, operations and maintenance of a 4.15-kilometre long four-lane bridge across the river Godavari.

An Indian irrigation company has been cut to default by S&P Global Ratings after it failed to pay interest on its green dollar bond, in a further sign that stress among local firms is spilling over into the nation’s offshore debt market, Bloomberg News reported. Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. missed an interest payment due last month on the $200 million of notes maturing in 2022, issued by its unit Jain International Trading BV. S&P said that it cut its rating on the company and the notes to D after the 30-day grace period for meeting the obligation ended March 3.

India’s top builder is marketing a complex debt offering that it needs to complete successfully to avoid a default, Bloomberg News reported. The new bond from Lodha Developers International Ltd. will be key for it to refinance its existing $324 million note maturing March 13. The company also needs to meet conditions involving setting aside cash before it can tap the proceeds of the bond. “We feel very good about the level of interest and commitments we have so far,” said Abhishek Lodha, chief executive officer of Macrotech Developers Ltd., which is the flagship company of the Lodha group.

An asset manager backed by Asia’s richest banker has finally invested in a stressed Indian asset, in a positive sign for the broader push to clean up the nation’s massive pile of bad debt, Bloomberg News reported. Kotak Special Situations Fund invested 5 billion rupees ($69 million) in beleaguered Jindal Stainless Ltd., India’s largest stainless steel producer, according to a statement. The fund is backed by billionaire banker Uday Kotak.

India’s troubled shadow banks face their biggest test yet in the months ahead: a record bill to settle in the local debt market, Bloomberg News reported. The lenders will need to repay 1.1 trillion rupees ($15.1 billion) of local-currency bonds in the three months starting April 1, the most ever for a quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That will prove challenging for the lower-rated ones among them, given they’ve been largely shut out of the domestic funding market.