Kotak Mahindra promoter Uday Kotak on Wednesday sold 1.5% of his stake in the bank to two Canadian pension funds companies for an estimated Rs 2,255 crore, in an effort to comply with a Reserve Bank of India directive. The central bank had asked him to bring down his promoter shareholding to 30% by June 30 – before Wednesday’s sale, he held a 30.30% personal stake in the company.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 92 lakh shares, and the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec got 1.84 crore shares after Kotak sold them in the open market, PTI reported. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 817.

Kotak will further have to reduce his holdings to 20% by December 31, 2018 and 15% by March 2020 under the RBI’s new guidelines for acquiring bank licences.