Thiruvananthapuram: ESAF Small Finance Bank has received Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval for NRI operations.
As per operating guidelines for Small Finance Banks, it has been decided by Reserve Bank of India that Small Finance Banks who are authorized as dealer category II are permitted to open and maintain Non-Resident Rupee Accounts.
The bank will be able to provide services of NRE (Rupee) Savings Bank and term deposit accounts and buying and selling of foreign currencies.
The Thrissur-based ESAF SFB had posted a profit of Rs. 27 crore in the first full year of operations ended March 2018 and the total income earned stood at Rs. 699 crore for the year. As of now, ESAF Small Finance Bank has more than 400 banking outlets, including 104 new retail banking outlets and 205 ATMs spread across 11 states and almost 100 districts in India, covering the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Pondicherry, New Delhi and Jharkhand.
With a client base of 2.3 million, the small finance bank has crossed Rs 2500 crore deposit base, Rs. 4100-crore loans and advances and total business of Rs 6600 crore within a year of operations. The micro banking assets crossed Rs. 4050 crore and the retail banking assets stood at Rs. 50 crore.
