ESAF Small Finance Bank opened its new regional office in Nagpur. The newly inaugurated regional office will serve as a vital hub for the Bank’s operations across Maharashtra and Central India, enabling support and service delivery to customers in the region. The office was inaugurated by Smt. Sangeeta Lalwani, Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India. Shri. Ravimohan P. R., Chairman, ESAF SFB, inaugurated the ATM. Shri. Balkrishna Bhartia, National President, Confederation of All India Traders, Shri. George K. John, Executive Vice President – IT and Operations, ESAF SFB, Shri. Hemant Kumar Tamta, Executive Vice President, Network 2, ESAF SFB, Shri. Sreekanth C. K., Head, Marketing and PR, ESAF SFB, Shri. Sanjeev Kumar Hotta, Regional Head, Nagpur Region ESAF SFB, and Shri. Sunil Jadhav, Zonal Head, ESAF Multi-State Agro Co-operative, also spoke during the occasion.

Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank has been elected to the Board of Sa-Dhan, an association of Microfinance and Impact Finance Institutions, as Co-Chairman. He secured a majority of 60 votes out of 62 votes cast. Shri. K. Paul Thomas commented that the victory was in recognition of ESAF’s contributions to promoting financial inclusion.

ESAF Small Finance Bank inaugurated its new Zonal Office at West Patel Nagar, New Delhi on 29th May 2023. The inauguration was done virtually by Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Honourable Minister of State, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was jointly carried out by Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank, and Smt. Mereena Paul, Executive Director, ESAF Foundation, along with Shri. C.B. Samuel, Former CEO, EFICOR, and Smt. Girija Subramanian, CMD, Agricultural Insurance Company of India. Many officials including Shri. Scott Walters, CEO, Opportunity International, Australia, Shri. S. N. Sharma, GM, RBI, Smt. Chitra Datar, GM, Bank of Maharashtra, Shri. Amit Meena IAS, Ministry of Finance, Shri. Ramesh Babu, Secretary, EFICOR, Shri. George Thomas, Executive Vice President, ESAF Small Finance Bank, Shri. Hemant Tamta, Executive Vice President, Network 2, ESAF Small Finance Bank, Shri. Christudas K. V., CEO, ESAF Co-operative and Shri. Sreekanth C.K., Head, Marketing and PR, ESAF Small Finance Bank, were present during the occasion.

Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank met Shri. Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Co-operation, during his visit to Thrissur on 12th March 2023.

Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank, proudly represented the Bank at the GABV Annual General Meeting 2023 held in New York on 8th May 2023. As a value-driven bank, it is an honour for ESAF to be part of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values.
The meeting was a reminder of the recurring social and environmental challenges that our world faces. As a responsible member of the banking community, ESAF Small Finance Bank understands that every step it takes towards a more sustainable future is critical. The Bank's participation in the meeting was a testimony to its commitment to responsible banking practices.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the speech given by Smt. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation, who emphasised the need to have the boldness to create an impact. In today's world, it is not enough to merely exist as a financial institution; one must take a proactive approach with boldness to create a meaningful positive impact.
In his speech, Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF SFB, shared his admiration of the customer-centricity exhibited by community banks in New York. He observed that the people of New York have immense trust and comfort in community banking. Customer-centricity is at the heart of ESAF Small Finance Bank's operations. He emphasised the need for a high level of customer obsession in order to be more impactful as a social bank.

Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance participated in Sa-Dhan South India Conference as a panellist for the session on Financial Inclusion on 22nd February 2023. The topic dealt with in the session was ‘Meeting the Funding Need - Opportunities and Challenges’. The session was attended by several eminent personalities. Shri. Tamal Bandyopadhyay, Consulting Edition, Business Standard, was the Moderator for the session. The eminent panel included Smt. S. Srimathy, Executive Director, Indian Overseas Bank, Shri. Venkatakrishna, CGM, NABARD and Shri. Sadaf Sayeed, CEO, Muthoot Microfinance.

Shri. K. Paul Thomas, MD and CEO, ESAF Small Finance Bank honoured Shri. Pashupati Kumar Paras, Union Minister for Ministry of Food Processing Industries. During their cordial and warm conversation, Shri. K. Paul Thomas explained the role being played by ESAF Small Finance Bank in financial inclusion and the Bank's vision and mission.

ESAF Small Finance Bank reached one lakh agricultural customer base within a short span of one year. Kisan Jyothi, a recently launched product, has gotten wide acceptance among customers. The Bank targeted individual farmers and joint borrowers engaged in agriculture and allied activities like dairy farming, agricultural infrastructure, agri processing units, etc. for its agri lending portfolio. Term Loan, Kisan Credit Card, Dairy Development Loan, Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) Finance, Kisan Jyoti Loan, Farmers Interest Group Loan, etc. are the other agri products designed to meet the financial needs of agricultural customers. The bank has deployed exclusive Agri Relationship Officers, FFOs and Business Correspondents to build relationships with customers and source leads for the products.