RBL Bank, formerly known as Ratnakar Bank Limited, is an Indian private sector bank founded in 1943;[3] its headquarters are in Mumbai. It offers services across six verticals: corporate and institutional banking, commercial banking, branch and business banking, retail assets, development banking and financial inclusion, treasury and financial market operations.[3][4]
History
On 6 August 1943, Ratnakar Bank was founded as a regional bank in Maharashtra with two branches in Kolhapur and Sangli founded by Babgonda Bhujgonda Patil from Sangli and Gangappa Siddappa Chougule from Kolhapur. It mainly served small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and business merchants in the Kolhapur-Sangli belt. It was incorporated in Kolhapur district on 14 June 1943 as Ratnakar Bank Limited.[5][6] In 1959, the bank was categorized as a scheduled commercial bank as per the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. During this decade, it was referred to as an NH4 Bank. In 1970, it received a banking license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).[7]
In July 2010, Vishwavir Ahuja became managing director and CEO of the bank. In August 2014, the name of the bank was changed to RBL Bank Limited.[6]
As of March 2022, it had a network of 324 branches and 341 ATMs across 28 states and union territories.[8][9] It has 9,257 employees.The Bank also has a network of 1418 business correspondent branches of which 870 are managed by RBL Finserve Limited, a wholly owned business correspondent of the Bank.
In 2016, the bank ran a financial literacy programme called Saksham in collaboration with the CDC to provide education to 25,000 individuals and 300 villages in four districts of Madhya Pradesh.[10] Another Saksham programmeme was run in Ahmedabad in 2013.[11]
In 2018, RBL Bank partnered with MoneyTap to launch India's first personal credit line-based app.[12] In June of the same year, the company announced that it had raised its stake in microlender Swadhaar FinServe to 100 per cent.[13]
Funding
The Bank has raised Rs. 8,600 crore of equity capital and Rs. 1500 crore of Basel III-compliant Tier II debt from 2010 to date. The Bank counts Barings Private Equity Asia, British International Investment (formerly CDC Group), Multiples Alternate Asset Management, the Asian Development Bank, HDFC Ltd., ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and Gaja Capital, among others, as its shareholders.[14]
Throughout the 2010s, RBL Bank reportedly raised a total of INR 4,000 crore from investors. It raised INR 700 crore in 2011, INR 376 crore in 2013, INR 328 crore in 2014 and INR 488 crore in 2016.[15] In July 2017, RBL Bank received board approval to raise an additional INR 1680 crore.[16]
In December 2019, the company announced that it had raised INR 675 crore through a preferential issue. Investors such as East Bridge Capital Master Fund and WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund participated.[17][18]
In August 2020, the company announced that it had raised INR 1566 crore through a preferential issue. It was led by Baring Private Equity Asia, while other investors included ICICI Prudential Life, CDC Group and local private equity company Gaja Capital.[19][20]
Management rejig
R Subramaniakumar was appointed as the Managing Director & CEO of RBL Bank by the RBI, the Board of Directors, and the Management team at the Bank on 12 June 2022.[21]
Awards and recognition
Best Bank for Digital solutions - Asiamoney Best Bank Awards 2022 by Euromoney[22]
₹11,619 crore (US$1.5 billion) (2023)[1]
