Our Story

Our Story

It all began in the 1990s, when Chandra Shekhar Ghosh observed the plight of Kolkata’s small-time traders. To grow their businesses, they had no option except high-interest loans from traditional moneylenders. His deep desire to help these marginal business owners led to the creation of Bandhan, a microfinance institution providing loans – and hope – to the poorest. In a decade and a half, Bandhan made history by transforming into a universal bank that serves all socio-economic sections across the country. Today, Bandhan has truly expanded, but its mission remains the same – to build a financially-inclusive India.

Our Journey

Eight Years of The Bank, Nearly Two Decades of Bandhan

  1. 2001

    • Bandhan started as a society that stood for financial inclusion and women empowerment through sustainable livelihood creation.
    • Started microfinance operations in rural Bengal.

  2. 2006

    • Bandhan acquired an NBFC and established Bandhan Financial Services Private Limited – keeping the core objective of financial inclusion intact.

  3. 2009

    • The microfinance portfolio was transferred from society to NBFC.

  4. 2010

    • Bandhan became the largest microfinance institution (MFI) in the country.

  5. 2015

    • Bandhan Bank started operations as a universal bank on August 23.
    • It became the first microfinance company in India to get a universal banking licence.
    • On the day of the launch, the Bank started with 2,523 banking outlets.

  6. 2018

    • On the day of listing itself, Bandhan Bank emerged as the 8th most valued bank on the basis of market capitalisation.

  7. 2019

    • Bandhan Bank acquired the stake of HDFC Limited in GRUH Finance, one of India’s foremost affordable housing finance companies.

  8. 2020

    • The Bank set up its 1,000th bank branch and 4,000th banking outlet.