New Delhi, Sep 14 (Inditop.com) Private sector lender Yes Bank Monday announced that it has entered into an agreement with Proparco, a French multilateral development finance agency, to raise $20 million (Rs.97.45 crore) subordinated debt.

“The bank intends to raise up to Rs.500 crore by way of subordinated debt forming part of upper and lower tier II capital by end of March 2010,” it said in a statement.

The instrument has a maturity of 15 years with a call option with Yes Bank at the end of 10 years from the date of subscription.

The debt qualifies for inclusion in upper tier-II for capital under Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, the bank statement said.

Proparco is the private sector investment arm of the French multilateral development finance agency Agence Fran�aise de Developpement (AFD).

“This capital raising has been done to further augment our tier-II capital base and our capital adequacy and enhance the long-term resources of the bank,” said Yes Bank managing director and chief executive Rana Kapoor.

Added Proparco chief executive Luc Rigouzzo: “The focus areas in India for Proparco are clean energy, microfinance, health and education, and Yes Bank has a strong track record of investment and innovation in these sectors.”