ESAF Small Finance Bank Shares End At 15.08% Premium Over IPO Price

Shares of ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd. debuted at Rs 71.90 apiece on the BSE, a premium of 19.83% over their IPO price of Rs 60 apiece.

On the National Stock Exchange, the shares listed at Rs 71 apiece, a premium of 18.33%.

The shares ended at a premium of 15.08% over the IPO price, though it declined 3.96% from its listing price to end at Rs 69.05 apiece.

The Rs 463-crore IPO was subscribed 73.15 times on the final day. Bids were led by institutional investors (173.52 times), non-institutional investors (84.37 times), retail investors (16.97 times) and portion reserved for employee (4.36 times).

ESAF provides micro, retail and corporate banking, para-banking activities like debit cards, and third-party financial distribution, in addition to Treasury and permitted foreign exchange business. ESAF commenced their business in March 2017 and was included in the second schedule to the RBI Act in November 2018.

The lender predominantly focuses on unbanked and underbanked segments, especially in rural and semi-urban centers. As of June, 63% of their gross advances and 71.7% of their branches were dedicated to customers from these centres.

The bank's assets under management have nearly doubled between March 2021 and 2023 and stand at Rs 17,204 crore as of the first quarter.

The lender has 700 banking outlets and 767 customer service centres across 21 states and 2 union