slice to rebrand as Small Finance Bank, plans fundraise for expansion
The merger, which has already received some regulatory approvals, including an NOC from the RBI, marks the creation of India’s first fintech bank.
Fintech startup slice on Monday said it will rebrand as slice Small Finance Bank Limited (slice SFB) following its merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB).
The merger, which has already received some regulatory approvals, including a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), marks the creation of India’s first fintech bank.
According to the internal documents accessed by YourStory, the merger is expected to be finalised once all regulatory and compliance requirements are met, paving the way for its nationwide expansion.
Over the next three years, slice SFB is expected to introduce a range of financial products, including high-yield savings accounts, fixed deposits, co-branded credit cards, personal loans, SME lending, gold loans, and digital banking solutions.
The documents showed that the bank’s net worth is now Rs 912.58 crore post the merger. Its Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) has risen to 23.67%, and the bank’s Net Non-Performing Assets (NNPA) have improved from 6.69% to 4.62%.
"Some industry folks had written off slice's merger as just NESFB's technology partner, but this name change suggests otherwise. It shows RBI is genuinely serious about a digital-first bank in India and is giving slice the chance to lead it, it'll be interesting to see how all this turns out" a source close to the developments told YourStory.
For its pan-India expansion plan, the Assam-based bank is in talks to raise $250-300 million from a group of financial investors and family offices, The Economic Times reported.
The report said that it is targeting a significant expansion of its customer base, aiming to grow from its current 11 million users to over 70 million by the end of FY30.
At present, the bank operates approximately 200 branches. To support its expansion plans, slice SFB is set to increase its workforce across various roles. It is led by Managing Director and CEO Satish Kumar Kalra, while Rajan Bajaj, Founder of Slice, now holds an approximate 15% stake in the small finance bank.
Edited by Suman Singh