Ratnakar Bank

completed

The proposed project would involve an equity investment of up to INR 1.3 billion (around US$24 million) in The Ratnakar Bank Ltd. (the Bank or RBL), through a preferential allotment, subject to IFC’s Board and Indian regulatory approvals. The project is in line with IFC’s strategy of supporting financial inclusion and providing access to finance to MSMEs. The project intends to support a small bank in scaling up its business and give a strong market signal for foreign investment. Further, the project is expected to support the Bank in (i) augmenting its capital base and to prepare it for Basel III implementation and (ii) growing its assets, increasing its reach and improving its market share especially in the MSME space. Established in 1943, RBL is a Kolhapur based small sized old private sector bank. It was granted the status of a scheduled commercial bank in 1959. It was established as a commercial bank with the core objective of catering to the needs of small and medium businesses. The Bank grew its branch footprint across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa with a small presence in Delhi and Gujarat – the focus continued on small and medium businesses. Currently, the bank serves the trading, agriculture & manufacturing sectors through 1,750 employees, 117 branches and 158 ATMs. The Bank''s customer base is largely semi-urban and rural, with a judicious mix of urban customers. It has a client base of over 400,000 customers across wholesale, consumer/retail banking and financial inclusion verticals.