IDFC FIRST Bank: Most Promising New Bank India 2019

IDFC FIRST Bank is a new bank in India formed by the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First in December 2018 and led by the former founder and Chairman of Capital First after the merger. The history of the two entities couldn’t be more different. In 2015, IDFC Limited, India’s premier Infrastructure Financing Institution with loans in excess of $12b, secured a commercial banking licence and spun out its loans to create IDFC Bank. Capital First on the other hand was founded by entrepreneur Vaidyanathan who acquired 10% in the company and executed a leveraged Management Buyout (LBO) in 2012. The company grew from $14m in 2010 to $4.3b in 2018 all focussed on financing consumers and small entrepreneurs. The new bank re-constituted as IDFC First Bank, has stated that it proposes to expand is the analytics-inspired consumer lending of Capital First on the superior liability platform of the former IDFC Bank. And why not, after all Capital First shareholders had seen their wealth multiply 10 times in six years ending 2018. Though loss making yet, it’s got a leadership team that once turned around an entity thatentity that made losses off $4m to a strong entity posting profits of $47m in 2018. The judges declare IDFC FIRST Bank as the winner of the 2019 award for the Most Promising New Bank (India).