Bandhan Bank's micro challenges: Unsecured loan book, CEO's tenure

Microloans are unsecured. Conscious of this, the Kolkata-based Bandhan acquired affordable housing finance company Gruh Finance in 2019 from what was then HDFC Ltd

It is 10 years since Bandhan Financial Services became the first microfinance institution (MFI) to receive the universal bank licence. A year later, in 2015, it started operations. Bandhan’s entry into banking was seen as a vote of confidence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the country’s microfinance sector. Subsequently, the RBI awarded small finance bank licences to nine MFIs. For any microlender that evolves into a bank, the challenge is how to quickly diversify the loan book to include a higher share of secured loan.

Microloans are unsecured. Conscious of this, the Kolkata-based Bandhan acquired affordable