Fino Payments Bank applies for SFB license after board's agreement

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said that Fino Payments Bank applied for a licence to become a Small Finance Bank (SFB).

As per the press release by RBI, "During the quarter ended December 31, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India has received one application under the Guidelines for ‘on tap’ Licensing of Small Finance Banks in the Private Sector dated December 05, 2019, from Fino Payments Bank Limited."

According to the guidelines, payments banks were allowed to apply for a conversion into SFB post five years of operations along with meeting other guidelines mandated by the RBI. The bank must also have a minimum paid-up voting equity capital or net worth of Rs 200 crore.

In July 2023, the board of Fino Payments Bank, which started operations in 2017, gave approval to the transition into a small finance bank, subject to necessary approval.

"We have applied for a licence in December as per the guidelines on SFBs. This is in line with the board approval we have taken for such a licence in July. We are now awaiting comments from the RBI," Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO of Fino Payments Bank, told Business Standard.

During the July-September quarter of FY24, the net profit of the bank had increased by 41.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 19.5 crore. The revenue increased by 18.2 per cent to Rs 358.6 crore.