History
Bandhan was set up in 2001 as a not-for-profit entity with the objective of financial inclusion and women empowerment. It started its microfinance operations from Bagnan, a small village, about 60 km from Kolkata. The model followed for delivery of microfinance services was individual lending through group formation. Bandhan focused on serving underbanked and underpenetrated markets. [3]
In 2006, Bandhan acquired a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) and created Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited (BFSPL) to scale up its microfinance activities. In 2010, it became the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in the country. [4]
In April 2014, Bandhan received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a bank license. [5] On June 17, 2015, RBI granted the banking licence to Bandhan, making it the first microfinance institution to become a universal bank in India. [6]
Bandhan Bank commenced operations on August 23, 2015. The then Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, inaugurated the Bank in Kolkata. [7] Its public shareholders then included International Finance Corporation; Caladium Investment Pte Ltd (the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, an arm of GIC); and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
On 27 March 2018, Bandhan Bank was listed on the bourses and became the 8th largest bank in India by market capitalisation, on the day of its listing. [8] Its shares opened at ₹487.33 on the National Stock Exchange and closed at ₹476.85; 27% over its issue price of ₹375. [9]
Merger
In October 2019, Bandhan Bank acquired GRUH Finance Limited, [10] a housing finance company, in a share-swap deal. [11]
Operations
Bandhan Bank is present in 35 out of 36 states and union territories of India, with nearly 6,300 banking outlets [12] [13] After obtaining the universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India, Bandhan Bank started operations on August 23, 2015, with 501 branches, 50 ATMs and 2,022 Banking Units (BUs). The Bank has mobilised deposits of ₹1,41,002 crore and its total advances stand at ₹2,72,929 crore as of December 31, 2024. [12]
Bandhan Bank is focused on inclusive banking and serves the unbanked and under-banked segments of the country, with 73% of its branches situated in rural and semi-urban areas. [14]
Listing and shareholding
The equity shares of Bandhan Bank are listed on BSE and the NSE. [16] [17] [18]
Bandhan Bank is an associate of Bandhan Financial Holdings Limited (BFHL) [19] which holds a 39.99% stake in the bank as on December 31, 2021. Further, BFHL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandhan Financial Services Limited (BFSL). Other major shareholders of the Bank as on December 31, 2021, are Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (9.89%), and Caladium Investment Pte. Limited (7.79%). [9]
| Shareholders as on March 31, 2022 | Shareholding (%) [9] |
|---|
| Promoter & Promoter Group* (BFHL) | 39.99 |
| Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) | 34.31 |
| Bodies Corporate | 9.71 |
| Individual Shareholders | 6.16 |
| Qualified Institutional Buyers | 3.91 |
| Others | 5.92 |
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₹21,034 crore (US$2.4 billion) (2024)
₹6,639 crore (US$760 million) (2024)
