Utkarsh Micro Finance, a MFI, has received final licence from The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start operations as Small Finance Bank (SFB).
The new SFB will be named as 'Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Ltd' and is likely to start banking operations in early 2017, the company said in statement.
In October 2015, Utkarsh Micro Finance had got the "in-principle" approval to set up SFB as per the guidelines issued by the RBI.
The company has over 1.2 Mn active clients with over Rs 17.70 crore of portfolio outstanding as at the end of the second quarter (September 2017).
Incorporated in 2009, Varanasi-based Utkarsh Micro Finance is among the top 10 micro finance companies in the country with operations in ten states.