In this week’s wrap-up, we broke down the $3 billion bet Dubai’s Emirates NBD is making on RBL Bank, SEBI’s clampdown on mutual funds dabbling in pre-IPO deals, RBI’s rules that finally give silver a formal seat at the lending table, how Orkla India is taking its spice empire public, and explained the Lenskart IPO in a Shark Tank pitch style.

And in this week’s Markets edition, we explained the talks around the government’s proposal to hike FII limits in public-sector banks from 20% to 49%. What’s driving the move, how it could unlock fresh foreign capital and why it might also test investor sentiment about PSBs.

Click here to read the full markets story.

With that out of the way, let’s take a look back at what we wrote this week.

RBL’s ticket to the big leagues

A decade ago, RBL Bank was a little-known player hustling through partnerships and co-branded credit cards. Its tie-up with Bajaj Finance changed everything — it helped RBL build one of India’s largest credit-card books and put it on the retail-banking map.

But when the RBI rewired co-branded card rules, that growth engine sputtered. The bank needed new capital and a faster growth engine. And that’s where Dubai’s Emirates NBD enters the picture. It’s offering a $3 billion investment for a 60% stake, which is the biggest FDI in an Indian bank to date. 

The deal could lift RBL’s capital adequacy, help it expand its 563-branch network, and plug into Emirates NBD’s global digital expertise. For Emirates NBD, it’s a shortcut into India’s fast-growing market. But are things as simple as they seem? And could the deal define how far India is willing to open its banking sector for mid-tier banks?

That’s what we answer in our Monday story.

SEBI wants mutual funds to stop chasing pre-IPO deals

For years, mutual funds have quietly dipped into the pre-IPO market, buying unlisted shares at early-bird prices. It wasn’t illegal, just a creative stretch of a rule that allowed investments in companies “to be listed.”

But SEBI now wants to draw the line. It has told the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) that mutual funds can no longer participate in pre-IPO placements. And the reason is simple. Mutual funds promise daily liquidity and transparent valuations, and unlisted shares offer neither. So if an IPO gets delayed, investors could be stuck with illiquid assets in their portfolios.

The move forces mutual funds back to their core which is public markets, while riskier pre-IPO bets could shift to alternate investment funds (AIFs) and private-equity players. But that’s not the only thing changing.

Catch Tuesday’s newsletter here to know more about the ripple effects.

What you need to know about loans against silver

Gold loans are everywhere, from TV ads to shop hoardings at every street corner. But silver-backed loans? They’re almost unheard of. And that’s partly because silver is bulky, volatile, and lacked clear regulations — until now.

The RBI has finally standardised lending against silver across banks and NBFCs. It’s introduced uniform purity checks, loan-to-value ratios, and even a gold-to-silver pledge cap. In short, it’s giving silver the same regulatory framework as gold, but with limits to keep lenders safe.

This change could open up formal credit access for many Indians who own silver but not gold. And we broke it all down in our Wednesday story.

The Orkla India (MTR Foods) IPO

From your morning upma mix to your evening curry masalas, chances are an MTR or Eastern Condiments packet was involved. And their parent, Orkla India, just closed a ₹1,667 crore IPO, which was a complete offer for sale.

MTR’s journey began in a 1924 Bengaluru restaurant before evolving into a packaged-foods empire. And today it sells masalas, ready-to-eat meals, vermicelli, pickles, and sweets across 1.82 lakh tonnes of annual production and nearly 2,000 distributors. And its southern stronghold drives double-digit growth and strong operating profit margins, making it one of India’s steadiest FMCG players.

But the spice trade is volatile. Prices swing with harvests, suppliers are concentrated, and storage mishaps can turn expensive fast.

And our Thursday's newsletter takes you through the full recipe behind the business — its strengths, risks and numbers.

The Lenskart IPO explained

Lenskart finally hit the markets this week, pitching itself as India’s tech-driven eyewear revolution. With 2,800 stores, 7 million loyalty members, and its first-ever annual profit, the pitch sounds tempting. But look closer, and the picture isn’t as clear.

More than half of that ₹297 crore profit came from accounting gains, not core business operations. Promoters are offloading ₹5,128 crore worth of shares in a ₹7,278 crore issue, and yet the company’s asking for a ₹70,000 crore valuation which is nearly 10 times its FY25 sales.

Sure, India’s eyewear market is massive and under-served, and Lenskart has a strong head start. But investors may need 20/20 vision to see past the glossy valuation story.

You can check out the Friday story for the full breakdown.

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