AU Small Finance Bank Limited is an Indian scheduled commercial bank in the small finance bank category, headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It transitioned from a non-banking financial company (NBFC) to a small finance bank in April 2017, after receiving in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the small finance bank licensing framework announced in 2014.
| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking, Financial services |
| Category | Small Finance Bank |
| Headquarters | Jaipur, Rajasthan, India |
| Founder | Sanjay Agarwal |
| Predecessor | Au Financiers (India) Limited (NBFC) |
| Commenced banking operations | 19 April 2017 |
| Regulator | Reserve Bank of India |
| Listings | BSE, NSE |
AU Small Finance Bank offers retail and commercial banking products, including savings and current accounts, fixed and recurring deposits, vehicle finance, housing loans, business loans, gold loans, and loans to micro, small and medium enterprises. The bank's customer base is concentrated in semi-urban and rural markets, in line with the small finance bank mandate to extend credit to underserved segments of the economy.
The institution traces its origin to Au Financiers (India) Limited, a non-banking financial company established in Jaipur and led by Sanjay Agarwal, a chartered accountant. The NBFC focused on vehicle financing, housing finance and small business lending in northern and western India.
In September 2015, the Reserve Bank of India granted in-principle approval to ten applicants, including Au Financiers, to set up small finance banks. The objective of this licensing window was to advance financial inclusion by providing basic banking and credit services to unserved and underserved sections such as small farmers, micro and small industries, and unorganised sector entities.
The bank operates a network of branches, banking outlets, business correspondent points and asset centres across multiple Indian states, with a particularly strong presence in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Its lending portfolio remains centred on retail and small-ticket secured products, with vehicle finance and small business loans as historic strengths inherited from its NBFC phase.
AU Small Finance Bank is one of the larger institutions to emerge from the RBI's 2015 small finance bank licensing round and represents a notable case of an NBFC successfully transitioning into a scheduled commercial bank. Its operations contribute to the broader policy goal of expanding formal banking access in semi-urban and rural India.