Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd, a private sector bank, intends to expand into credit cards and personal loans as part of its consumer finance portfolio.
Equitas Small Finance Bank was also investing in the development of a mobile application to support merchants with their company operations.
“In the coming years, we plan to build our consumer finance portfolio by foraying into credit cards and personal loans which will further help increase stability through a diversified loan portfolio,” said Arun Ramanathan, the bank’s Part-Time Chairman and Non-Executive Independent Director.
He further stated that the bank would focus on products such as forex cards, Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits, and remittances, among others.
In the bank’s most recent annual report, released on Sunday, Ramanathan stated that the bank completed the reverse merger of Equitas Holdings Ltd with Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd, allowing the financial institution to seek for a Universal Bank Licence.
“Apart from ending the anomaly of having two listed companies with more or less the same asset base, the merger cleared the decks for Equitas Small Finance Bank to apply for a Universal Bank License once the guidelines for the same are issued,” he said.
According to P N Vasudevan, MD & CEO, the bank is a new-age financial institution that is continuing to implement numerous digitisation efforts to provide customers with access to the bank’s goods and solutions.
“With the increasing penetration of smartphones and faster data connectivity, we are investing in a dedicated app for our tiny and small merchants to help them improve their business operations and integrate their operating systems with various payments and banking solutions,” he further said.
Vasudevan stated that the bank was working with the Sringeri Sarada Math to establish a cancer care hospital through the Equitas Healthcare Foundation.
“We started building a hospital to provide access to high-quality cancer care under the Equitas Healthcare Foundation, jointly with Sringeri Sarada Mutt…we expect the hospital to commence operations in the second half of this year,” he said.
The facility will provide new hope and guidance in a coordinated campaign to reverse the course of cancer, particularly for those from low-income groups, he added.
