Utkarsh Small Finance Bank To Raise Up To Rs 750 Crore Through Share Sale

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd.'s board on Wednesday approved plans to raise up to Rs 750 crore via share sale.

The shares will be sold via qualified institutions placement, preferential issue, private placements, further public offer or other permitted modes in one or more tranches, according to a stock exchange filing.

The fundraise is subject to the approval of shareholders as well as regulatory or statutory approvals, as may be required. The lender did not disclose how the funds will be utilised.

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank's third-quarter earnings saw a significant downturn compared to the previous year. The bank reported a net loss of Rs 168 crore, compared to Rs 116 crore in profit made in the same period last year.

Net interest income, however, remained relatively stable at Rs 480.13 crore compared to Rs 482.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

In a post-earnings conference call, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Govind Singh had said that with current year expansion, the bank has a significant large franchise "which is adequate for our growth target and hence we may not need much expansion of our branch network in FY26".

Varanasi-based Utkarsh SFB's micro-banking activities are primarily focused in rural and semi-urban locations of the country. It extends loans based on Joint Liability Group model to individuals and microbanking business loans.

Shares of Utkarsh SFB closed 0.8% lower at Rs 25.79 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday, compared to 0.2% gain in the benchmark Sensex.