Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Limited

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Limited is a small finance bank headquartered in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, promoted by its microfinance-origin holding company, Utkarsh CoreInvest Limited. The bank offers a full suite of banking products including savings and current accounts, term and recurring deposits, loans, cards, insurance and investment products, delivered through a mix of branches and digital channels. The bank has its roots in microfinance lending and has since expanded into a broader retail and MSME banking franchise across multiple Indian states, with a particular concentration in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. It recorded one of the fastest asset under management growth rates among small finance banks between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2022, reflecting rapid scaling of its loan book alongside its deposit franchise. The bank's public issue in July 2023 was structured entirely as a fresh issue of equity shares, with proceeds earmarked to strengthen its Tier-1 capital base to support future lending growth and to cover issue related expenses, rather than to provide an exit for existing shareholders.

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank raised approximately Rs 222.75 crore from 20 anchor investors ahead of the public issue, including SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential, Kotak Mahindra Trustee, Goldman Sachs Funds and SBI Life Insurance Company, with the anchor allocation priced at the upper end of the price band.