Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB), which applied for a universal bank licence in February, is hoping to receive the RBI nod by December-end, its managing director and chief executive officer Sanjeev Nautiyal said. 

Nautiyal also spoke of the bank looking to raise Rs 2,000 crore via QIP and its five-year expansion plans, which include taking the loan book to Rs 1 lakh crore by FY30, tripling the deposit base and increasing its branch network to 1,150 from 752 as on June-end. These goals are irrespective of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) universal banking licence approval decision, he said.

The microlender-turned SFB has a gross loan book of Rs 33,287 crore and a deposit base of Rs 38,619 crore as on 30 June 2025.

"We will be raising Rs 2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) route over the next 18-24 months to fund our growth plans," Nautiyal told reporters.

On the deposit side, the focus will be to increase the share of low-cost CASA (current account savings account) deposits to around 35% by FY20 and get the net interest margin at 6-7%.

On the assets side, the bank’s effort will be to significantly shift towards secured loans, which are expected to constitute 65% to 70% of the book. 

Credit costs are projected to average 1% to 1.5% of the gross loan book in FY30. The return on assets would be in the range of 1.8% to 2% and return on equity between 16% to 18%.

Nautiyal said the stress levels in microfinance loans have peaked in nine of the ten states and growth in disbursements is around the corner. 

On universal banking licence, Nautiyal said he expects the RBI to take a final call on the issue by the end of 2025.

“As we understand, the RBI may be at an advanced stage of processing our application, and then it will be presented to a committee of officials who will take a call on application. We are hopeful that a decision will be taken by December end,” he said. 

The RBI recently approved AU SFB’s application for converting into a universal bank within 18 months. Jana SFB has also applied to the RBI for a universal bank licence.