On the business front, we were able to achieve new benchmarks in all the parameters of disbursements, deposits, asset book, and profitability.

The disbursements grew quarter on quarter and crossed the mark of ₹ 20,000 Crores by the end of the year, and we also witnessed 40% year-on-year growth in our deposits. Our collections and asset quality continued to improve, placing us among the industry’s best, and the restructured book also maintained its healthy collections. Our dynamic collection strategy, which encompasses balanced usage of on- and off-road collection teams, multiple agencies, and data analytics, led to a significant increase in collections and improved asset quality during the year. The remarkable business growth and record-breaking profitability have set a strong foundation for our FY 2023-24 business plans and encouraged us to excel further. We will continue focussing on investments in technology and digital platforms to further increase productivity and enrich our customer experience.

While Micro-Finance has been the fortress of our business, we also concentrated on diversifying and expanding our other business products, such as affordable housing, MSME, FIGB, and Branch Banking, among others. The growth in these businesses has played a lucrative role in building the pillars for the expansion of our Bank’s business beyond Micro- Finance. In the upcoming year, we will further strive to improve the business of our non-MFI products and explore introducing new products with the overall objective of increasing our secured books, which is our immediate priority. Further, we have also been focussing on strengthening our alternate service channels like phone banking, video banking, and digital banking, as this is the way forward in our ever-upgrading industry. These investments would start bearing fruit in the current financial year and henceforth.

We have a strong and diverse Board, with three women independent directors and professionals and leaders from varied areas of expertise and experience such as Banking, Finance, Micro-Finance, Accounts, Human Resources, Risk Management, and Information Technology, among others. During the fiscal year, the Board met numerous times through various Board and Board Committees to supervise the functions of Ujjivan SFB and provide necessary guidance and support as our Bank paved the way toward growth and profitability.

Further, on the talent front, we were able to stabilise the attrition and retain and attract talent at all levels of the organisation. We have a resilient Senior Management Teamcomprising well-qualified, experienced, and passionate leaders whose contribution and consistency have helped us achieve new heights of success. We are confident that Ujjivan SFB is set to achieve significant new milestones.

During FY 2022-23, we made evident progress in the process of our Reverse Merger with our Holding Bank, Ujjivan Financial Services Limited (UFSL) in accordance with applicable laws and guidelines. In this regard, as mandated by SEBI, we achieved our Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) through our Qualified Institutions Placement in September 2022. Based on the achievement of MPS, necessary applications with the regulatory authorities were filed, and we have already received the NOCs from the RBI, NSE and BSE for the said Reverse Merger. During the year, we also raised subordinated debt capital of ₹ 300 Crores (Tier II capital) by way of the issue of Non-Convertible Debentures. This helped further improve our capital adequacy ratio, which at the end of the fiscal year was at 25.8%, with Tier I capital at 22.7%.

I would also like to highlight that we have always believed in giving back to society. To this end, we have taken up various initiatives, such as the Chote Kadam project in partnership with the Parinaam Foundation, skill development programmes and other community development programmes to benefit the underprivileged communities. This year we started making conscious efforts to improve on the overall Environmental, Social, and Governance front.

Last year, I expressed my optimism that Ujjivan SFB has the potential to grow exponentially, and we were hopeful that the long-standing shareholders would appreciate the overall performance and be rewarded in the years to come. I take pride that we have delivered beyond our expectations, and all our optimism has become a reality. With stellar business and financial performance, well-defined long-term objectives, strong values, shareholders’ trust, and a zealous Ujjivan Team, I remain optimistic that Ujjivan SFB is on track to create a leading mass market bank, serving the fast-growing aspiring middle class of Indian society. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our shareholders, regulators, customers, and employees, who continue to trust us through our ongoing journey towards strengthening our core and shaping our future.

Yours truly,

B. A. Prabhakar
Chairman