The Bandhan Group received a conditional approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for setting up a universal bank in April 2014 – one of the two among 25 applicants that included some of the big business conglomerates in India. The banking regulator gave its final nod in June 2015.

Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, inaugurated the bank on August 23, 2015 in Kolkata –the first bank to be set up in eastern part of India after Independence. The grand function was attended by the regulators, policy makers and luminaries from financial sector and corporate India.

Bandhan Bank is driven by a constant desire to serve better. Bandhan Bank started with 501 branches, 50 ATMs and 2,022 Door step Service Centres (DSCs) on day one. Presently, Bandhan Bank has 3,308 touch points pan India consisting of 725 bank branches, 2,316 Doorstep Service Centres (DSCs) and 267 ATMs, serving more than 9.5 million customers.

The bank has mobilized deposits worth Rs. 19,000 crore and its outstanding loan book is close to Rs. 19,000 crore. Bandhan Bank has a dedicated team of around 22,000 employees on roll.

The Kolkata-headquartered bank has two divisions; general banking and micro banking, offering a suite of retail financial solutions, including a variety of savings and loan products. Currently, the savings bank account interest rate is 6% for balance above Rs.1 lakh and 4.25% for balance up to Rs.1 lakh. For term deposits, the maximum interest rate offered is 8.25% for one to less than two years, with an additional 0.5% for senior citizens.

Bandhan Bank seeks to offer its world-class banking products and services to urban, semi-urban and rural customers alike. While it has a pan India presence, the special focus remains on eastern and north-eastern part of India. It is a bank for all but the focus remains unchanged to meet the financial needs of people who are overlooked by the formal banking system and create better education, health care and self-employment opportunities. In sync with the philosophy of ‘Aapka Bhala, Sabki Bhalai’ and keeping financial inclusion at the heart of it, Bandhan is committed to provide a host of products and services, competitively on a par with India’s top private and state-owned banks.