Utkarsh SFB sets price band of Rs 23-25 per share for its July 12 IPO

The offering includes a provision to reserve 1% of the total issue size for its employees, equating to Rs. 5 crore shares

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (USFB) on Monday set a price band of Rs. 23-Rs. 25 per share for its initial public offering (IPO) which opens on Wednesday and closes on Friday (July 14).

The price range represents a value of 2.3-2.5 times the face value of the bank's equity shares. The bank intends to generate Rs. 500 crore through the IPO, solely consisting of a fresh issue component. The offering includes a provision to reserve 1 percent of the total issue size for its employees, equating to Rs. 5 crore shares.

The bank said that it has maintained the second-highest provision coverage ratio among other small finance banks in the 2022-23 financial year. The lender primarily operates in rural and semi-urban regions and as of March 2023, it served a customer base of 3.59 million, predominantly located in these areas.

“We focus on the top 100 centres for deposits, that is why the large amount of deposit comes from those cities,” Govind Singh, chief executive officer, and managing director of USFB said. “The growth in advances is more in rural and semi-urban areas; this is not a mismatch but a strategy,” he added.