Board of Equitas SFB to meet in November to finalise listing steps

Boards of Equitas Holdings and Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFBL) will meet next month to finalise steps to listing of the lender to meet the RBI regulations.

ESFBL, wholly-owned subsidiary of Equitas Holdings, was granted licence to operate as small finance bank. Under the licensing norms, the bank has get listed within three years from the date of commencement of operations -- by September 4, 2019.

In view of the regulatory requirements, the boards of ESFBL and the company would be considering, in their ensuing board meetings scheduled on November 1, 2018 and November 2, 2018, respectively, "further steps to get the shares of ESFBL listed within the prescribed timelines".

They will also decided on approaching the RBI for an approval to merge Equitas Holdings with the bank at an appropriate time, post the lock-in period.

As per the RBI requirements, the promoter shareholding in the small finance bank has to be maintained at least 40 per cent, for a period of five years.

In case of ESFBL, the lock-in period ends on September 4, 2021.

Meanwhile, Ujjivan Financial Services, in a regulatory filing, said it too would consider all appropriate measures to ensure the timely compliance of RBI directives regarding Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, which has to get listed by January 31, 2020.