India, Sept. 30 -- On September 17, 2025, State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, reaped hefty gains from an emergency rescue mission. It was possibly forced on it by the Government, which wished to prevent a banking panic. In March 2020, SBI paid '10 per share to buy a 49 per cent stake in Yes Bank, an ailing private bank that was on the brink of a complete collapse. Well, there was no option. The private bank had to be saved, the banking system needed to survive. SBI, being the Government's banker, had to step in.

Almost 66 months later, India's largest bank sold a minor 13.18 per cent of Yes Bank to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for more than twice the price. Earlier too, SBI got rid of the shares in pie...