Shares of state-owned IDBI Bank rallied as much as 19% to their day’s high of Rs 91.88 on the NSE on Wednesday, extending gains for a fourth session in a row, and rallying 27% over the same period.

Here are possible factors behind the sharp surge

In today’s session, volumes were high as nearly 18,000 crore worth over Rs 1,500 changed hands on the bourses. ET Now also reported that 82 lakh shares changed hands in six block deals on Wednesday. The Economic Times couldn’t independently verify the buyers and sellers involved in the transaction.

The gains come amid stalled privatisation of the lender. However, the government is reportedly planning to revive talks. The Economic Times last month reported that the Centre is exploring ways to revive the stalled privatisation of IDBI Bank. The choices include examining whether earlier rejected bids, from Prem Watsa-led Fairfax Financial Holdings and Emirates NBD, for their failure to hurdle the reserve price threshold could still be considered, sources told ET.

The bids remain ‘alive’, and the government is examining legal provisions under the tendering framework that allow for bids to be accepted even if offers are below the reserve price, said the people cited above.

The reserve price remains undisclosed. A call is expected to be taken soon as the government looks at ways to bolster its non-tax revenues. A senior government official said that all options are on the table, as the process for selling its stake in IDBI Bank was never "scrapped" even after the financial bids were found to be below the reserve price.

As per the process, the successful bidder will have to go through a final assessment by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that it meets the regulator’s ‘fit & proper’ standards. In addition, approvals will be needed from statutory and regulatory authorities, including the Competition Commission of India. The successful bidder will also have to comply with the requirement to make an open offer to minority shareholders of IDBI Bank.

IDBI Bank Q4 snapshot

The bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,943.2 crore for Q4FY26, down 5.3% from Rs 2,051.2 crore in the same period last year. However, net interest income showed strength, rising 17% year-on-year to Rs 3,851.5 crore from Rs 3,290 crore.

On the asset quality front, the bank saw further improvement. Gross non-performing assets eased to 2.32% from 2.57% in the previous quarter, while net NPAs narrowed to 0.15% from 0.18% sequentially.

Despite the surge, IDBI Bank shares are down 13% since the beginning of 2026.