ESAF Small Finance Bank operationalises authorised dealer category 1 licence

Such banks aim to ease the foreign exchange facilities for non-resident Indians

ESAF Small Finance Bank on April 2 said it has operationalised the Authorised Dealer Category 1 Licence (Foreign Exchange operations), with effect from April 2.

Authorised dealer category 1 banks, also known as AD Cat I Banks, are the banks with an RBI licence to buy and sell foreign exchange for specified purposes. Such banks aim to ease the foreign exchange facilities for non-resident Indians (NRIs).

On November 10, 2023, ESAF Small Finance Bank stock made a stellar debut, listing at 19 percent premium to the IPO price. The stock opened at Rs 71 on the NSE and Rs 71.9 on the BSE against the issue price of Rs 60.

Ahead of the listing, the shares were trading at a 26 percent premium in the grey market. The grey market is an unofficial trading platform where shares get traded well before the allotment in the IPO and until the listing day. Most investors track the grey market premium (GMP) of a stock to get an idea of the listing price.

ESAF Small Finance Bank’s public offer was subscribed 73.15 times with bids at 422.29 crore equity shares against an issue size of 5.77 crore shares. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) were at the forefront, buying 173.52 times the allotted quota, while the portions set aside for high net-worth individuals (HNIs) and retail investors were subscribed 84.37 times and 16.97 times, respectively.