{
 "name": "Small Finance Banks (SFBs) in India — Cohort, Mandates & Count",
 "unit": "number of institutions",
 "dashboard": "https://bankpulse.ai/dashboards/small-finance-banks/",
 "source": "RBI Guidelines for Licensing of Small Finance Banks (2014); RBI Report on Trend & Progress of Banking in India / Annual Report",
 "reviewed_by": "Vikram Jain",
 "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
 "updated": "2026-06-22T00:11:31+05:30",
 "dateModified": "2026-06-22T00:11:31+05:30",
 "method": "The SFB licensing framework, the cohort of small finance banks and their origins, the differentiated mandates, and the year-wise count of operational SFBs, on an RBI framing. Intermediate-year counts are indicative.",
 "note": "Rounded and approximate; NOT in the Verified-numbers ledger pending reviewer sign-off. ~11 SFBs operate, most converted from NBFC-MFIs. Mandates: 75% of ANBC to priority sector and at least 50% of the loan book in loans up to Rs 25 lakh; minimum CRAR 15%. Universal-bank conversion path opened by RBI in April 2024 (AU SFB has applied).",
 "mandates": [
  {
   "mandate": "Priority-sector lending",
   "requirement": "75% of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC)",
   "rationale": "Far above the 40% asked of universal banks — SFBs exist to push credit to the underserved"
  },
  {
   "mandate": "Small-ticket focus",
   "requirement": "At least 50% of the loan book in loans up to Rs 25 lakh",
   "rationale": "Keeps lending tilted toward small borrowers — small businesses, marginal farmers, micro units"
  },
  {
   "mandate": "Minimum capital",
   "requirement": "Rs 200 crore minimum net worth (paid-up voting equity)",
   "rationale": "An entry-capital floor set in the 2014 licensing guidelines"
  },
  {
   "mandate": "Capital adequacy",
   "requirement": "Minimum CRAR of 15% of risk-weighted assets",
   "rationale": "A higher buffer than the universal-bank minimum, reflecting the riskier small-borrower book"
  },
  {
   "mandate": "Promoter holding",
   "requirement": "Minimum 40% initial promoter stake, brought down over time",
   "rationale": "Skin in the game at the start, dispersed ownership later"
  },
  {
   "mandate": "Stock-exchange listing",
   "requirement": "Listing required within three years of reaching Rs 500 crore net worth",
   "rationale": "Forces transparency and market discipline as the bank grows"
  }
 ],
 "cohort": [
  {
   "bank": "AU Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC (Au Financiers)",
   "note": "The largest SFB by assets; has applied to the RBI to transition to a universal bank; absorbed Fincare SFB in 2024"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Equitas Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC / microfinance",
   "note": "Chennai-based; listed; reverse-merged with its holding company"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Ujjivan Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI (Ujjivan Financial)",
   "note": "Listed; reverse-merged with its holding company"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Jana Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI (Janalakshmi)",
   "note": "Listed in 2024"
  },
  {
   "bank": "ESAF Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI (Kerala)",
   "note": "Listed in 2023"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Utkarsh Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI",
   "note": "Listed in 2023"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Suryoday Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI",
   "note": "Listed"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Capital Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "Local area bank",
   "note": "The first SFB to commence operations (2016); listed in 2024"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Shivalik Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "Urban co-operative bank",
   "note": "The first UCB to voluntarily transition into an SFB (2021)"
  },
  {
   "bank": "Unity Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "Fresh licence (Centrum + BharatPe)",
   "note": "Began in 2021; took over the stressed PMC Bank under a scheme"
  },
  {
   "bank": "North East Small Finance Bank",
   "origin": "NBFC-MFI (RGVN)",
   "note": "Combined with the fintech 'slice'"
  }
 ],
 "count_series": [
  {
   "year": "2016",
   "count": 1,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "Capital Small Finance Bank, converted from a local area bank, is the first SFB to begin operations"
  },
  {
   "year": "2017",
   "count": 10,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "The original cohort of ten in-principle licensees (most former NBFC-MFIs) is operational"
  },
  {
   "year": "2021",
   "count": 12,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "Shivalik (first urban co-operative bank to voluntarily transition) and Unity (a fresh licence) join"
  },
  {
   "year": "2025",
   "count": 11,
   "approximate": true,
   "note": "After consolidation — Fincare merged into AU, and slice combined with North East SFB"
  }
 ]
}