Equitas SFB hits highest level since listing on healthy Q2 numbers

The Reserve Bank of India has lifted all restrictions imposed on Equitas SFB a year ago, the lender said on Monday.

Shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) gained 5 per cent to Rs 34.35 on the BSE in the early morning trade on Tuesday after the bank's net profit more-than-doubled to Rs 103 crore in the September quarter (Q2FY21). The private sector lender had posted a profit of Rs 49 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Net interest income (NII) grew 32 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 461 crore against Rs 351 crore in Q2FY20. The asset quality of the bank also improved with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) falling to 2.48 per cent of the gross advances at the end of Q2FY21 from 2.88 per cent a year ago. Net NPA declined to 1 per cent from 1.62 per cent in the previous year quarter. Gross and net NPA stood at 2.64 per cent and 1.39 per cent in the June quarter.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted all restrictions imposed on Equitas SFB a year ago, the lender said on Monday.  Last year, RBI had barred Equitas SFB from opening new branches after it missed the deadline to list its shares on the stock exchanges, a key licensing condition. The RBI also froze the salary of the SFB’s managing director and CEO. This has now been restored at the then existing level.

On November 2, Equitas SFB debuted on the stock exchanges with a 6 per cent discount against its issue price of Rs 33. At 10:31 am, the stock was trading nearly 4 per cent higher at Rs 33.85 on the BSE, against a 0.66 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 3.5 million equity shares changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE.