IDFC Bank acquires micro lender Grama Vidiyal

IDFC Bank on 12 July 2016 signed a share purchase agreement to completely acquire South India-based lender Grama Vidiyal Micro Finance Ltd. for an undisclosed amount. Grama Vidiyal will act as a dedicated Business Correspondent of IDFC Bank, and will help deepen reach and widen the delivery mechanism for banking services. It is a first-of-its-kind transaction, where a bank has taken over a microfinance institution

and made it a subsidiary.

About IDFC Bank

• IDFC Bank Ltd. is an Indian banking company.

• It is headquartered in Mumbai.

• The bank started operations on 1 October 2015.

• It received a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India in July 2015.

About Grama Vidiyal

• Grama Vidiyal is a microfinance institution.

• It operates in the Tamil Nadu area of South India.

• Since 1993, it has provided small loans to women without access to formal credit and who typically have daily incomes of less than 80 rupees per day.

• In 2007, Grama Vidiyal transformed from a charitable trust to a regulated Non-Bank Financial Company (NBFC).