ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd

ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited was incorporated as ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited on May 5, 2016 at Thrissur, Kerala, as a Public Limited Company vide Certificate of Incorporation issued by the RoC. The Bank received license to carry on business as a SFB from the Reserve Bank of India on November 18, 2016 and commenced their banking operations from 10 March 2017. As per RBI Approval, the Bank became a Schedule Bank effective from November 12, 2018, which was included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.The Bank is one of the leading small finance banks in India which provides micro, retail and corporate banking, para banking activities, such as debit card, third party financial product distribution, in addition to Treasury and permitted Foreign Exchange Business. The Bank offer online banking services, including electronic funds transfer, bill payment services, usage of credit cards online, requesting account statements, and requesting cheque books. The asset products comprise micro loans, retail loans, MSME and corporate loans and agricultural loans.The history of Bank dates back to 1992, when Kadambelil Paul Thomas, the Managing Director, founded ESAF Society, a society focused on the development of microenterprises, community development, and community health development. ESAF Society started lending its micro loan activities in Kerala in 1995. In 2006, K. Paul Thomas along with others acquired Corporate Promoter. Thereafter, ESAF Society transferred its micro loan business undertaking to our Corporate Promoter in 2008 pursuant to a business transfer agreement dated March 31, 2008.On March 10, 2017, the Bank acquired the business of its Corporate Promoter and consequently, the Corporate Promoter transferred its business undertaking comprising of its lending and financing business to Bank through a Business Transfer Agreement on February 22, 2017. On 17 March 2017, the Bank was officially inaugurated at Thrissur, Kerala. Prior to Fiscal 2018, all of the loans were micro loans. Since then, it introduced retail advances, MSME and corporate advances and agricultural advances. In Fiscal 2020, it began offering platinum debit cards.As at March 31, 2021, Bank had 550 Branches, 12 Business Correspondents (BCs), 158 banking agents and 327 ATMs in 21 states and 2 union territories. Their UltraSmall Branches were the erstwhile micro loan branches from when the business was owned by Corporate Promoter. They catered primarily to micro loan customers. As per the RBIs guidelines, all their Ultra Small Branches were converted to Branches or merged with a Branch before March 10, 2020.The Bank is proposing an Initial Public Offer aggregating upto Rs 998 crore Equity Shares, comprising a Fresh Issue of upto Rs 800 crore by raising capital and Rs 198 crore through Offer for Sale.