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ESAF Small Finance Bank crosses ₹50,000 Cr business, eyes repeat in half the time

The Kerala-based lender's MARG strategy has pushed secured assets past 60% of its loan book, marking a deliberate pivot away from microfinance.

₹50,000 CrTotal business milestone

FINSAMUDRA DESK · 25 Jul 2026, 1:45 pm IST · 1 MIN

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₹10,000 Cr+Gold loans

90%+ of ₹26,000 Cr total depositsRetail deposits share

It took ESAF SMALL FINANCE BANK LTD nine years to reach its first ₹50,000 crore in total business. Their CEO expects the next ₹50,000 crore to come in half that time. — Image: Finsamudra LinkedIn archive

ESAF Small Finance Bank Ltd, led by MD & CEO Dr. K Paul Thomas, has crossed ₹50,000 crore in total business — a milestone that took nine years to reach. The CEO expects the bank's next ₹50,000 crore to take half that time.

The growth is anchored in ESAF's MARG strategy: MSME Loans, Agri Financing, Retail Credit, and Gold Loans. This four-pronged approach has driven a shift away from uncollateralized microfinance toward secured lending.

Secured MARG assets now make up over 60% of ESAF's total loan book. Gold loans alone have crossed ₹10,000 crore, becoming a significant contributor to the bank's asset mix.

On the liability side, ESAF holds ₹26,000 crore in total deposits, with over 90% coming from retail deposits — a sign of disciplined, granular liability management.

The bank's roadmap includes capping unsecured micro-lending at 30%, launching FCNR(B) dollar products targeted at South-East Asian and Gulf NRIs, diluting promoter equity to 26% by 2031, and preparing its balance sheet for a Universal Bank license.

Sources

Finsamudra on LinkedIn (original post)

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ESAF Small Finance Bank crosses ₹50,000 Cr business, eyes repeat in half the time

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