10 Small finance banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday granted 10 entities in-principle licences to open so-called small finance banks—another move towards expanding access to financial services in rural and semi-urban areas.

Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd, 
Janalakshmi Financial Services Pvt. Ltd and 
Equitas Holdings Ltd are among the 10 entities. 
The others are Au Financiers (India) Ltd, 
Capital Local Area Bank Ltd, 
Disha Microfin Pvt. Ltd, 
ESAF Microfinance and Investments Pvt. Ltd, 
RGVN (North East) Microfinance Ltd, 
Suryoday Micro Finance Pvt. Ltd, and 
Utkarsh Micro Finance Pvt. Ltd.

Small finance banks will offer basic banking services, accepting deposits and lending to unserved 
and underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries, and entities in the unorganized sector, RBI said when it released guidelines for such banks in November.

The licensing of small finance banks follows 11 payment bank licences given out by RBI last month to provide basic savings, and deposit, payment and remittance services to people without access to the formal banking system. Payments banks will not be in the business of lending.