Unity Small Finance Bank, backed by BharatPe and Centrum Financial Services, will consider listing in two-three years, a senior official said. “According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, a bank must be in existence for five years (before listing). We are completing third year of operations, and I think we will actively explore this (IPO) space in two-three years,” Inderjit Camotra, managing director and CEO of Unity Bank, said on Monday.
Unity SFB, which obtained the banking licence in November 2021, is jointly promoted by Centrum Financial Services and Resilient Innovations (BharatPe), holding 51% and 49% stake, respectively.
The SFB sector currently has over half a dozen listed players, including AU, Equitas, Ujjivan, Utkarsh, ESAF and Suryoday. A public listing is also a requirement for SFBs to convert into universal banks under the RBI’s voluntary conversion guidelines, introduced in April.
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Camotra, however, said Unity Bank intends to remain an SFB in the near future. “We are content being a small finance bank. There are distinct advantages to being an SFB.”
In January 2022, Unity Bank acquired assets, liabilities and the branch network of Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC Bank). “The PMC merger was a significant boost for us, bringing 1,100 experienced bankers and 110 branches,” Camotra said.
While PMC had no presence in South India, Unity Bank is rapidly expanding in the region. After Kerala and Telangana, Unity on Monday entered Tamil Nadu by opening eight branches. It also plans further expansion in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Unity Bank currently holds a deposit base of over ₹9,000 crore and a loan book of ₹8,500 crore.
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The bank serves 2.1 million customers, with plans to reach 10 million customers and ₹50,000 crore each in assets and liabilities over the next five years. “We are adding 35,000 customers per month,” Camotra said.
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