Bandhan Bank has initiated the process of an initial public offering (IPO). The timing of the IPO will depend on market conditions, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, Managing Director and CEO, Bandhan Bank, said.

The bank is in the process of selecting investment bankers for its proposed IPO. “The process of selecting investment banks has started. It is a long process,” he said.

Bandhan is the first microfinance institution to receive universal banking licence in 2015. The Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines mandates the bank to get itself listed within three years from commencement of banking operations.

“As per RBI norms we have to get listed within three years; we are in the process,” Ghosh told newspersons on the sidelines of its second anniversary celebration here on Wednesday. The bank is not in a hurry to go for an IPO immediately as it is comfortable on the capital front.

Business growth “There is no hard and fast rule really that our IPO has to hit the capital market by August next year. It can be one or two months here and there,” he added. Having commenced its operations with 501 branches and 2,022 doorstep service centres or banking outlets, the bank has scaled it up to 840 branches and 2,444 banking outlets in last two years.

Total deposits stand at ₹23,500 crore, and advances at ₹20,800 crore. The bank is looking to grow its retail loan book. It has started offering loan against gold in as many as 25 urban branches and plans to expand the portfolio further.

“We started gold loan facilities for our customers five months ago. We are seeing handsome growth in gold loans; going forward we will offer this product at more number of branches,” he said.

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