Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited

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Page 1 of 4 COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA Combination Registration No.C-2024/10/1199 26th November 2024 Notice under Section 6(2) of the Competition Act, 2002 filed by Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited. CORAM: Ms. Ravneet Kaur Chairperson Mr. Anil Agrawal Member Ms. Sweta Kakkad Member Mr. Deepak Anurag Member Order under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 1. On 25th October 2024, the Competition Commission of India (Commission) received a notice under sub-section (2) of Section 6 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) filed by Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (Acquirer) in relation to the acquisition of the entire standard unsecured personal loans portfolio in India of Standard Chartered Bank, India Branch (Target Business) pursuant to the Deed of Assignment dated 18th October 2024 entered into between the Acquirer and Standard Chartered Bank, India Branch (Transferor). 2. The proposed combination involves the acquisition by the Acquirer of the Target Business from the Transferor (Proposed Combination). The Proposed Combination Combination Registration No. C-2024/10/1199 Page 2 of 4 contemplates the assignment and transfer by the Transferor of all its rights, title and interest in the receivables of the Transferor towards the unsecured personal loans that the Transferor has advanced to various individual borrowers in India and which are “standard” in nature, i.e., none of which are in default or otherwise overdue or classified as non-performing assets to the Acquirer. The structure, ownership and/or control of any enterprise will not be directly or indirectly affected by the Proposed Combination. 3. In terms of Regulation 14 of Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2024, letter dated 5th November 2024 was issued to the Acquirer seeking certain information(s)/clarification(s), inter alia, relating to the activities of the parties and the response to the same was received on 11th November 2024. 4. The Acquirer is a public limited company listed on BSE Limited and National Stock Exchange of India Limited. It is the ultimate controlling enterprise of the Acquirer Group, which comprises of the Acquirer along with its subsidiaries and associate enterprises (Acquirer Group). It is registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a banking company and is engaged in the business of providing a range of banking and financial services including retail banking, wholesale banking and treasury operations through various branches in India. 5. The Target Business comprises of standard unsecured personal loans extended by the Transferor to individual borrowers in India. The Target Business is only undertaken in India and it does not have any activity or presence outside India. Whilst the Target Business does not itself have or otherwise comprise of any branches or offices; the activities of the Target Business are carried out by the Transferor through its various offices which are situated at various locations across India. 6. The Transferor is a foreign company incorporated in United Kingdom and operates in India through its branch offices. It is registered with the RBI as a foreign bank. The key business segments of the Transferor include corporate, commercial and institutional banking as well as consumer, private and business banking. Combination Registration No. C-2024/10/1199 Page 3 of 4 7. It is submitted that the activities of the Acquirer/each of the enterprises/affiliates forming a part of the Acquirer Group and the Target Business broadly overlap in the market of providing loans and lending services in India. Therefore, at broad level, the relevant market is defined as the ‘market of providing loans and lending services in India’. Further at narrow level, the relevant market is defined as the ‘market of providing retail loans in India’, and at the narrowest level, the relevant market is defined as ‘market of providing unsecured personal loans to individuals in India’. Further, it is submitted that the activities of the Acquirer/each of the enterprises/affiliates forming a part of the Acquirer Group do not exhibit any vertical or complementary relationship with the activities of the Target Business. 8. The Commission assessed the Proposed Combination considering all plausible relevant market(s) and decides to leave the precise delineation of the relevant market open, as it was observed that, because of the reasons stated below, the Proposed Combination is not likely to result in appreciable adverse effect on competition, irrespective of the manner in which the relevant market is delineated. 9. Based on the submissions in the notice, it is noted that the combined market share of the Acquirer Group and Target Business in each of the relevant markets identified above is in the range of [0-5] %. Further, there are other players present in each of the relevant markets viz., State Bank of India, HDFC Bank Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, Bajaj Finserv Limited, Axis Bank Limited etc. 10. Considering the material on record, including the details provided in the notice and the assessment of the Proposed Combination based on the factors stated in sub-section (4) of Section 20 of the Act, the Commission is of the opinion that the Proposed Combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India. Therefore, the Commission approves the Proposed Combination under Section 31(1) of the Act. 11. This order may stand revoked if, at any time, the information provided by the Acquirer is found to be incorrect. Combination Registration No. C-2024/10/1199 Page 4 of 4 12. The information provided by the Acquirer shall be treated as confidential in terms of and subject to provisions of Section 57 of the Act. 13. The Secretary is directed to communicate to the Acquirer accordingly.