ESAF Small Finance Bank has raised ₹162 crore as equity through preferential allotment of shares.

A total of 2.18 crore shares were allotted preferentially to certain investors in the HNI category including some existing investors, leading to a dilution of around 5 per cent at ₹75 per share. The shares were priced at 2.64 times pre-issue, and 2.45 times post issue, of book value as of September 30, 2020.

“The additional capital raised will strengthen the Capital Adequacy by about 250 basis points and will support our ambitious growth plan set for FY22. The overwhelming response shown by our investors during these tough times gives us the confidence to aim big. Considering the comfortable capital position and subdued market outlook on BFSI stocks, we have decided to postpone the IPO scheduled for the last financial year,” said K Paul Thomas, MD & CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank.

Award for Esaf Small Finance Bank

Growth numbers

The bank has also registered significant growth during challenging times. As per the unaudited results, it has achieved a 26 per cent growth in gross business during FY2020-21. It reported a 28 per cent rise in total deposits to ₹9,000 crore and advances crossed ₹8,413 crore at a growth of 23.61 per cent as on March 31. Total business crossed ₹17,412 crore against ₹13,835 crore in the year-ago period.

CASA growth was at 82 per cent, thanks to the focused strategies adopted by the bank. The CASA component stood at 19.42 per cent vis-a-vis 13.66 per cent recorded in the previous year. The bank also opened 96 new outlets during the year ended March 31, to take the total number of branches to 550.

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At present, ESAF Small Finance Bank has presence in 19 States and two Union Territories in India with a client base of 4.3 million-plus.