The Government of India has filed a comprehensive Regulation 29 disclosure with stock exchanges confirming the successful completion of its Indian Overseas Bank share divestment through the Offer for Sale mechanism. The transaction, conducted on December 17-18, 2025, involved the sale of 417.84 million equity shares, reducing the government's shareholding from 94.61% to 92.44% in the public sector bank.

Regulation 29 Filing and Transaction Details

The Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, submitted the mandatory disclosure under Regulation 29(2) of SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011, on December 19, 2025. The filing was signed by Director Jitendra Asati and addressed to the bank's board of directors along with BSE and NSE listing departments.

OFS Structure and Components

The offer comprised multiple components as outlined in the government's December 16, 2025 notice to stock exchanges. The base offer size included 385.13 million equity shares representing 2% of the bank's total paid-up equity share capital, with an oversubscription option of 192.57 million shares representing an additional 1%.

Shareholding Changes and Compliance

The disclosure reveals the government's shareholding position before and after the transaction, with detailed breakdowns of voting rights and share categories. Prior to the sale, the government held 1.82 billion shares carrying voting rights, representing 94.61% of the bank's total share capital.

Regulatory Framework and Guidelines

The transaction was conducted under comprehensive SEBI guidelines, including the master circular SEBI/HO/MRDPoD2/CIR/P/2024/00181 dated December 30, 2024, pertaining to offer for sale through stock exchange mechanism. The process also followed revised operational guidelines issued by both BSE (notice 20240701-19 dated July 1, 2024) and NSE (circular 93/2024 dated July 12, 2024).

The successful completion of this divestment transaction demonstrates the government's continued commitment to strategic stake reduction in public sector banks while maintaining regulatory compliance and market transparency through proper disclosure mechanisms.

Indian Overseas Bank has announced significant reductions in its lending rates, making borrowing more affordable for customers. The bank's Assets and Liabilities Management Committee (ALCO) approved these changes during its meeting on December 11, 2025, with the new rates becoming effective from December 15, 2025.

MCLR Rate Revision

The bank has reduced its Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 5 basis points across multiple tenors. The ALCO reviewed the MCLR workings as of December 10, 2025, before implementing these changes.

External Benchmark Lending Rate Adjustment

Following the Reserve Bank of India's decision to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held from December 3-5, 2025, Indian Overseas Bank has aligned its External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR) accordingly. The ALCO decided to reduce the EBLR by 25 basis points after deliberation.

Implementation Timeline

Both the MCLR and EBLR revisions will be implemented simultaneously on December 15, 2025. The bank communicated these changes to the stock exchanges under Regulation 30 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, ensuring transparency with stakeholders. These rate reductions are expected to benefit borrowers across various loan categories linked to these benchmark rates, providing relief in the current interest rate environment.