Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed Bandhan Bank to expand its branch network after considering the efforts made by the bank to comply with the licensing conditions. The central bank in September 2018 had barred Bandhan Bank from expanding its network as the lender failed to reduce the promoters' stake to 40 per cent from close to 82 per cent within the stipulated three-year time frame of commencing operations.
RBI has lifted the regulatory restriction on branch opening, subject to the condition that the bank ensures that at least 25 per cent of the total number of banking outlets opened during a financial year are opened in unbanked rural centres.
According to RBI's bank licence norms, a private sector bank's promoter will need to pare holding to 40 per cent within three years, 20 per cent within 10 years and to 15 per cent within 15 years. Bandhan Bank currently has 4,288 banking outlets, including branches.
Bandhan Bank is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. Bandhan, which started as a micro-finance company in 2001, received banking licence by Reserve Bank of India in 2014.
