The move aims to make Solapur’s Samarth Sahakari Bank a Small Finance Bank

Agreement for Private Placement has been executed as per Section 12 of the Banking Regulations Amendment Act 2020

Mumbai, October 21: Anshumman Joshi-led Dhanvarsha Group, a leading business conglomerate engaged in several sectors including finance and banking, will be investing Rs 150 crore in the share capital of the Samarth Sahakari Bank Ltd. Solapur to convert it into a Small Finance Bank as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms. The Group executed a Private Placement Agreement pertaining to invest of Rs. 150 crore into the bank as per Section 12 of the Banking Regulations Amendment Act 2020.

The Agreement for Private Placement was recently signed by Mr Anshumman Joshi, Chairman, Dhanvarsha Group. On behalf of the Samarth Sahakari Bank, it was signed by the Chairman Mr Dilip Yashwant Atre.

Samarth Sahakari Bank Ltd., Solapur, is a leading bank in Solapur in the cooperative sector with 32 branches across Maharashtra.

“We are expressing our interest by way of a firm proposal to infuse/invest sizable capital to the tune of Rs. 150 crore in the share capital of the Samarth Bank by way of private placement under Section 12 of the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020, for the purpose of Conversion of the aforesaid Bank,” said Anshumman Joshi, Chairman, Dhanvarsha Group. Joshi is widely known as a saviour of the Cooperative Banking Sector.

“The private placement agreement will be in the larger interest of all the Depositors and Shareholders of the Bank. We will infuse the required fund Share Capital through our Group in phases. With in- principle approval by RBI, we would convert it to a Small Finance Bank through our Alternative Investment Fund (White & Brooks AIF LLP) which is under the process of licensing with SEBI. We are interested to convert this State Level Co-operative Bank to a Smal Finance Bank as per the relevant RBI Norms,” added Mr Joshi.

Dhanvarsha Group has submitted the private placement proposal and a copy of the agreement to the RBI, Union Finance Minister, Cooperative Commissioner, Govt of Maharashtra, Pune.

“The private placement agreement to infuse required money in the form of share capital has come as a boon to us this will help us converting our Bank to a Small Finance Bank in the near future. The agreement would also put us on our toes to make all efforts to accelerate the growth of the bank. We are thankful to Dhanvarsha Group which has come forward with a robust plan,” said Mr Dilip Yashwant Atre, Chairman, Samarth Sahakari Bank.

“We have signed the private placement agreement essentially to convert our bank into a small finance bank. Now, with new provisions, a cooperative bank may issue, by way of public issue or private placement, equity shares or preference shares or special shares, on face value or at a premium,” added Santosh Kulkarni, CEO, Samarth Sahakari Bank.

According to Mr Rakesh Tolye, Director of the Bank, the private placement agreement and infusion of money through equity shares or other modes like special/preference shares would unlock higher valuation. Going forward when the bank will be listed, the investment by the Dhanvarsha Group will create extremely high value for each shareholder.

Now a cooperative bank can also get funds through unsecured debentures or bonds or other securities with an initial or original maturity of not less than ten years, to any member of such cooperative banks or any other person residing within its area of operation.

“We are making all efforts to put our bank on a faster growth trajectory. With a private placement agreement and adequate funds, we will be able to expand our operations beyond Maharashtra. We plan to open branches across the country,” said Mr Nilesh Yadav, Director, Samarth Sahakari Bank.

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