ESAF Bank Sees 7% Deposit Rise, 13% Advance Growth in Q3

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AuthorAnanya Iyer|Published at:
ESAF Bank Sees 7% Deposit Rise, 13% Advance Growth in Q3
Overview

ESAF Small Finance Bank reported strong third-quarter results, with total deposits increasing 7.10% year-on-year to ₹24,006 crore and gross advances growing 13.06% to ₹20,680 crore. The bank also proactively managed its asset quality by selling ₹1,694 crore in non-performing assets, while retail and other loan segments showed significant expansion.

ESAF Small Finance Bank Reports Strong Q3 Growth

ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd. announced a robust financial performance for the third quarter ended December 31, 2024. Total deposits surged 7.10% year-on-year, reaching ₹24,006 crore, a significant increase from ₹22,415 crore in the prior year period. Quarter-on-quarter, deposits saw a 4.86% rise, totaling ₹22,894 crore as of September 30, 2024.

The bank experienced healthy growth across its deposit segments. Term deposits climbed 6.85% year-on-year to ₹17,976 crore. CASA deposits increased by 7.83% year-on-year to ₹6,030 crore. The CASA ratio saw a slight improvement to 25.12% from 24.95% a year earlier, though it decreased from 26.41% in the preceding quarter.

Advances and Loan Portfolio Shift

Gross advances demonstrated a substantial year-on-year increase of 13.06%, hitting ₹20,680 crore by December 31, 2024. On a sequential basis, advances grew by 8.06%. A notable trend in the bank's loan portfolio is the decline in micro-loans, which fell 24.16% year-on-year to ₹7,583 crore.

Conversely, retail and other loans registered a dramatic rise of 57.95% year-on-year, amounting to ₹13,097 crore. Secured advances, encompassing gold loans, mortgages, MSME, and agriculture loans, now form a larger share of the gross advances, constituting 63.33% compared to 45.33% a year ago.

Strategic NPA Management and Customer Growth

ESAF Small Finance Bank actively managed its asset quality, undertaking technical write-offs and sales of non-performing assets totaling ₹1,364 crore during the 2024 calendar year. Without these actions, year-on-year advances growth would have been 20.52%, and quarter-on-quarter growth 11.05%. Disbursements increased significantly by 46.1% quarter-on-quarter.

The bank completed the sale of non-performing assets, including technical write-offs of ₹1,693.65 crore, to asset reconstruction companies for ₹183.18 crore. ESAF Small Finance Bank's customer base reached 99.85 lakh, with 5.71 lakh new customers added throughout the year. Its distribution network spans 788 branches and 1,045 customer service centres.

Leadership Transition

In a separate announcement, the bank appointed Karthikeyan Manickam as its new part-time chairman, succeeding Ravimohan Periyakavil Ramakrishnan upon his retirement. Shares of ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited closed at ₹26.85 on the BSE, reflecting a minor gain of 0.30%.

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