RBL Bank has raised its stake in microlender Swadhaar FinServe to 100 per cent to help expand its financial inclusion initiatives.

RBL Bank had earlier held 60.48 per cent stake in Swadhaar, which is an exclusive business correspondent of the lender.

“RBL Bank has brought this additional stake from marquee investors, including global financial inclusion non-profit, Accion,” said RBL Bank in a statement, while declining to disclose the financial details of the acquisition.

In a regulatory filing to the bourses, the lender said Swadhaar has now become its wholly-owned subsidiary.

Swadhaar FinServe offers services to the underbanked segment in rural and semi-urban areas, and has a network of 331 branches across 16 States and two Union Territories, along with assets under management of close to ₹2,000 crore and 7.5 lakh customers.

“The bank sees Swadhaar as a vehicle for becoming the market leader in the space of inclusive finance, especially catering to the underserved households and small businesses. In the future, we will also be looking to leverage Swadhaar’s growing branch network to offer other relevant products to customers in semi-urban and rural markets,” said Harjeet Toor, Head - Retail, Inclusion and Rural Business, RBL Bank.

Swadhaar became a business correspondent of RBL Bank in 2014, and was initially distributing micro-credit for joint liability groups.

“The strategy for this acquisition was chalked out two years ago, and I am pleased at the smooth transition. Accion, our anchor investor since inception, has facilitated and supported this process,” said Veena Mankar, Founder, Swadhaar Finserve.

RBL Bank had acquired a 30 per cent stake in Swadhaar in September 2016, and upped it to 60.48 per cent in November last year with rights to increase it to 100 per cent.

Shares of the bank, however, fell 0.86 per cent to close at ₹540 apiece on the BSE.

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