RBI returns Jana Small Finance Bank's application for universal bank licence

Mumbai, Oct 28 (IANS) Jana Small Finance Bank (SFB) on Tuesday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has returned its application to transition into a universal bank, citing non-fulfilment of the required eligibility criteria.

The bank had submitted its application earlier this fiscal year (FY26) after meeting one of the key conditions under RBI’s framework -- maintaining gross non-performing assets (NPAs) below 3 per cent and net NPAs under 1 per cent for two consecutive years.

However, the central bank said that other eligibility conditions were not met, leading to the return of the application.

“In continuation to our letter dated June 9, we wish to convey that the RBI has returned the application made for Voluntary Transition to Universal Bank due to non-fulfilment of the criteria mentioned in the RBI circular in this regard,” the Bengaluru-headquartered lender said in its stock exchange filing.

Following the announcement, shares of Jana SFB fell 2.14 per cent to Rs 446.4 on the BSE.

Over the last five days, the stock had gained Rs 9.40 or 2.14 per cent, but it has fallen by Rs 7.05 or 1.55 per cent in the past month.

In the last six months, Jana SFB’s shares have declined by Rs 68.95 or 13.35 per cent. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, however, the stock is still up by Rs 43.90 or 10.87 per cent.

Established in 2018, Jana Small Finance Bank is the fourth-largest small finance bank in India, serving over 12 million customers across 23 states and two Union Territories through 802 branches.

In the second quarter of FY26, the bank reported a net profit of Rs 75 crore, taking its first-half profit to Rs 177 crore.

Its net interest margin (NIM) stood at 6.6 per cent, while its gross NPAs were 2.8 per cent and net NPAs were 0.9 per cent.

--IANS

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