Headquartered in Mumbai, IDFC Bank is a universal bank, offering financial solutions through its nationwide branches, Internet and mobile. IDFC Bank offers basic services like Savings Accounts, NRI Ac
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counts, Fixed Deposits, Home Loans, Personal Loans among others, using technology and a service-oriented approach, to make banking simple and accessible, anytime and from anywhere. The bank provides customized financial solutions to corporate, individuals, small and micro enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, financial institutions and the government. IDFC Bank is a subsidiary of IDFC Ltd.
IDFC was granted an in-principle approval by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 April 2014 to set up a new bank in the private sector under Section 22 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Accordingly, a new company namely IDFC Bank was incorporated on October 21, 2014 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu to carry out the business of banking. As per terms and conditions contained in the in-principle approval and the RBI New Banking Guidelines, IDFC was required to transfer Financing Undertaking to IDFC Bank.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors of IDFC at its meeting held on 30 October 2014 demerged its Financing Undertaking into its wholly owned step down subsidiary - IDFC Bank under a Demerger Scheme. On December 26, 2014, the entire equity stake of IDFC Bank held by IDFC was transferred to IDFC Financial Holding Company Limited (IDFC FHCL), thereby making IDFC Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of IDFC FHCL, which in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of IDFC. Pursuant to the Scheme of Demerger, IDFC Bank issued and allotted 159.40 crore equity shares to shareholders of IDFC, thereby reducing the shareholding of IDFC FHCL from 100% to 53%.
IDFC Bank began its operations with effect from 1 October 2015 with the launch of 23 branches across India and with a gross loan book of approximately Rs 46381 crore. Shares of IDFC Bank were listed on the bourses on 6 November 2015.
On 31 March 2016, IDFC Bank announced a partnership with Uphold, the world's fastest growing cloud-based financial platform, for instant, easy and affordable inward remittances to India. The partnership is subject to approval from the RBI. This will enable Uphold users across geographies, initially starting with the U.S. and UK, to send money or make payments instantly to anyone in India, redeemable directly through any Indian bank.
On 12 July 2016, IDFC Bank signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of Grama Vidiyal Micro Finance Ltd, one of the largest microfinance institutions in the country. Upon completion of acquisition, Grama Vidiyal will be a wholly owned subsidiary of IDFC Bank. The acquisition will give IDFC Bank immediate access to 1.2 million rural and semi-urban households and Grama Vidiyal's network of 319 locations across 65 districts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh will act as Business Correspondent (BC) centres to IDFC Bank. Grama Vidiyal has an AUM (Assets Under Management) of Rs 1502 crore of micro finance assets as on 31 March 2016.
IDFC Bank launched its services in Meghalaya on 8 August 2016, with the opening its first branch in the capital city of Shillong and setting up first-of-its-kind interoperable micro ATMs in the state's rural locations. IDFC Bank committed to provide 100,000 water and sanitation loans with a value of over Rs 200 crore, in the next three years, at the 2016 Global Citizen Festival held in Mumbai on 19 November 2016.
On 30 November 2016, IDFC Bank announced that it has partnered with Bangalore-based online lending platform, Capital Float, to provide digital lending to small businesses across India. The partnership will address the needs of borrowers who have no access to organised bank credit, with limited or no documentation and without existing credit history. It is thus expected to bring more small businesses into the organized finance architecture.
In 2016, IDFC Bank acquired up to 10% stake in ASA International India Microfinance for Rs 8.5 crore.
On 7 February 2017, IDFC Bank in collaboration with IndiaLends launched a differentiated personal loan solution for first-time borrowers. IndiaLends is a financial technology start-up founded by ex-Capital one professional Gaurav Chopra and Mayank Kachhwaha.
IDFC Aadhaar Pay, India's first Aadhaar-linked cashless merchant solution, was officially launched on 7 March 2017, following successful pilots across 16 states. The customer's fingerprint is the password used to authenticate the transaction.
On 9 August 2017, IDFC Bank announced that it has partnered with Zeta, a leader in the digitized employee benefits space, to launch IDFC Bank Benefits' - an innovative solution for corporates that digitizes employee spends and claims, making the process simple, real-time and paperless. The end-to-end digital solution comprises an IDFC Bank Benefits Card and Zeta app, which integrates the full suite of allowances and reimbursements offered by an employer into one preloaded card.
On 17 October 2017, IDFC Bank crossed an important milestone with the launch of its 100th branch at Honnali, in Davanagere district of Karnataka. This coincides with the completion of the bank's second year of operations.
IDFC Bank, MobiKwik and Net1 announced a partnership on 9 November 2017 to launch a co-branded virtual prepaid card on the Visa platform to customers of MobiKwik. Around 65 million users of the MobiKwik will gain access to an IDFC Bank virtual card embedded within the app, making digital purchases at all e-commerce merchants easier and faster. Net 1, a leading international payments company, is a partner and a strategic investor in MobiKwik.
The Boards of Directors of IDFC Bank and Capital First at their respective meetings held on 13 January 2018 approved a merger of Capital First with IDFC Bank. Pursuant to the merger, which is subject to regulatory, and shareholder approvals, IDFC Bank will issue 139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First. This announcement is pursuant to IDFC Bank's stated strategy of 'retailising' its business to complete their transformation from a dedicated infrastructure financier to a well-diversified universal bank, and in line with Capital First's stated intention and strategy to convert to a universal bank. Capital First is finance company specializing in financing small entrepreneurs and consumers based on new age technologies.
Post-merger, the combined entity of IDFC Bank and Capital First will have an AUM of Rs 88000 crores; PAT of Rs 1268 crores (FY 17); and a distribution network comprising 194 branches (as per branch count of December 2017 of both entities), 353 dedicated BC outlets and over 9,100 micro ATM points, serving more than five million customers across the country.
On 4 June 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conveyed its No Objection' for the voluntary amalgamation of Capital First Limited, Capital First Home Finance Limited and Capital First Securities with IDFC Bank, subject to compliance with the terms and conditions specified therein.
During the financial year ending March 31, 2019, 92 new branches were opened across the country.
Pursuant to the effectiveness of the Composite Scheme of Amalgamation on December 18, 2018, the Allotment, Transfer and Routine Matters Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bank, at its meeting held on January 05, 2019 had inter-alia considered and approved the allotment of 1,377,109,057 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each, fully paid-up, as per the Said Share Exchange Ratio in terms of the Scheme, to the eligible equity shareholders of erstwhile Capital First Limited as on December 31, 2018, being the 'Record Date'.
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of the Bank had approved the change of name of the Bank from IDFC Bank Limited' to IDFC FIRST Bank Limited' and the consequential amendment to the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Bank. The name of the Bank has changed from IDFC Bank Limited to IDFC FIRST Bank Limited' with effect from January 12, 2019 by virtue of 'Certificate of Incorporation pursuant to change of name' issued by the ROC, Chennai.
During FY 2018-19, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, IDFC FIRST Bharat Limited' disbursed Rs 4989 crores of which Rs 4808 crore is in Joint Liability Group (JLG), Rs 31 crore is in Micro Enterprises Loan (MEL) and Rs 149 crore is in Micro Housing Loan (MHL) products as a BC to IDFC FIRST Bank. The year end portfolio outstanding managed by IDFC FIRST Bharat for FY ended March 31, 2019 increased to Rs 3732 crore The no of savings accounts opened by IDFC FIRST Bharat during FY 2017-18 was Rs 8 lakhs which increased to Rs 12 lakhs at the end of FY 2018-19.
The merged entity of the Bank expanded its retail lending operations during the year and cumulatively financed over 7.3 million customers, and built a retail loan portfolio of Rs. 40,812 crore, as on March 31, 2019.
The Board of Directors of the Bank at their Meeting held on May 01, 2020, subject to approval of the shareholders and such other approvals as may be required, approved the Preferential Issue, involving the issue and allotment of up to 86,24,40,704 (Eighty-Six Crores Twenty-Four Lakh Forty Thousand Seven Hundred and Four) equity shares of face value of Rs 10/- (Rupees Ten only) each fully paid-up, at a price of Rs 23.19/- per equity share (including premium of Rs 13.19/- per share), aggregating up to Rs 2,000 crores (rounded off) on a preferential basis to IDFC Financial Holding Company Limited(34,49,76,282 shares), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited(25,87,32,212 shares), Dayside Investment Ltd (affiliated entity of Warburg Pincus)( 8,62,44,070 shares), HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited(8,62,44,070 shares) and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Limited(8,62,44,070 shares). These shares have been allotted during the quarter ended 30 June 2020.
The Total Customer Deposits (CASA, Retail Term Deposits and Wholesale Term Deposits) have increased by 43% from Rs 40,504 crore as of March 31, 2019 to Rs 57,719 crore as of March 31, 2020. During FY2020, CASA Ratio of the Bank has consistently improved every quarter and within a year it has grown from 11.40% as on March 31, 2019 to 31.87% as on March 31, 2020.
As on 31 March 2020, IDFC FIRST Bank has one wholly owned Subsidiary Company, namely IDFC FIRST Bharat Limited (IDFC FIRST Bharat), which was formerly known as IDFC Bharat Limited. IDFC FIRST Bharat is acting as a Business Correspondent (BC') for distribution of the products of IDFC FIRST Bank and has given an added momentum to the financial inclusion plan of the Bank.
As on March 31, 2020, the Bank has built a national footprint through the operation of 464 branches (out of which 295 are Urban Branches and 169 are Rural Branches) across many cities in India, 652 Corporate Business Correspondent (BC') branches, 356 ATMs, 3 Central Processing Centers and 1 Clearing Hub.
As on 31 March 2021,the bank had its network through 596 Bank liability branches, 151 asset branches, 592 ATMs and 85 recyclers and 655 rural business correspondent centres across the country.
As on March 31, 2022, the Bank has built a national footprint through the operation of 641 branches across India, 601 Corporate Business Correspondent (BC) branches, 719 ATMs. The Bank had raised equity capital of Rs. 3,000 crore (approx.) through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) on April 6, 2021.
As on March 31, 2023, the Bank has built a national footprint through the operation of 809 branches across India, 803 Corporate Business Correspondent (BC) branches, 825 ATMs. The Bank added 168 new branches and 206 new ATMs during FY23.
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