Bandhan Bank

Bandhan was set up in 2001 as a not-for-profit entity with the objective of financial inclusion and women empowerment through sustainable livelihood creation. It started its microfinance operations from Bagnan, a small village, about 60 km from Kolkata. The model followed for delivery of microfinance services was individual lending through group formation. Bandhan focused on serving underbanked and underpenetrated markets. In 2006, Bandhan acquired a Non-Banking Financial Company and created Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited to scale up its microfinance activities. In 2010, it became the largest microfinance institution in the country.In April 2014, Bandhan received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India . On June 17, 2015, RBI granted the banking licence to Bandhan, making it the first-ever microfinance institution to become a universal bank in India. Bandhan Bank commenced operations on August 23, 2015. The then Union Finance Minister, Late Shri Arun Jaitley, inaugurated the Bank in Kolkata. Its public shareholders then included International Finance Corporation; Caladium Investment Pte Ltd ; and Small Industries Development Bank of India .

On 27 March 2018, Bandhan Bank was listed on the bourses and became the 8th largest bank in India by market capital, on the day of listing itself.