Tepid debut for Equitas Small Finance Bank — lists at a 6% discount over the issue price

• The Equitas Small Finance Bank shares listed at ₹31, which is at a 6% discount to the IPO price band set at ₹32-33 per share.
• The total market cap of ESFB rose to ₹3,443.21 crore at 10:05 am.
• Within minutes after listing, the shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank shed nearly 3% of their value and were trading at ₹30.15 apiece at 10:05 am, in a volatile market.

It was a subdued listing for the ₹518 crore IPO of the mass-market focused Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESFB) on the bourses today. The Equitas Small Finance Bank shares, listed at ₹31, which is at a 6% discount to the IPO price band set at ₹32-33 per share.

Within minutes after listing, the shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank shed nearly 3% of their value and were trading at ₹30.15 apiece at 10:05 am, in a volatile market.


The total market cap of ESFB rose to ₹3,443.21 crore at 10:05 am. A total traded quantity of 4.48 lakh shares changed hands on BSE, amounting to a turnover of ₹1.38 crore. The company will trade with the symbol of 'EQUITASBNK' on the Indian stock exchanges.

Tepid listing was already on the cards

The investor pessimism for ₹518 crore IPO of Equitas Small Finance Bank was evident ahead of the listing — the company clocked in the lowest subscriptions compared to other IPOs in 2020 so far. The IPO was subscribed 2 times on the last day of bidding, and the non-institutional Investor portion of the IPO wasn't even fully subscribed.

Most of the brokerage reports highlighted various risk factors According to ICICI Direct, for Equitas Small Finance Bank, new products and entry in new geography pose a risk of non-performing assets. Currently, the company has a 55% concentration of loan portfolio in Tamil Nadu and nearly 13% in Maharashtra.

Angel Broking also said in its IPO note that the fresh formation of bad loans from moratorium books would keep provisions high and return ratios compressed, and could pose a concern for Equitas SFB. "We believe investors should wait for price discovery before making any investment decision," they added.

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