Equitas Small Finance Bank said its gross loan portfolio rose 13 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19,642 crore, in line with recovery in economic activities at the informal sector.

“The demand for loans from the informal sector borrowers continues to remain very strong,” managing director PN Vasudevan said.

disbursed Rs 2717 crore in the December quarter, which was 10 per cent higher compared to the year ago period data, but 14 per cent lower than the preceding quarter’ Rs 3145 crore, according to the provisional numbers released by the bank.

Vasudevan said collections continue to remain healthy, adding: “The recent surge in infections is something we are closely tracking and hope it does not affect the livelihood of our borrowers.”

Its deposit grew 13 per cent to Rs 17,884 crore.

During the quarter, the bank continued to focus on scaling up and strengthening the liability franchise. Bulk deposits saw a contraction as the bank focuses on retail deposits. The low-cost current and savings accounts (CASA) has doubled to 50.8 per cent at the end of December compared to what it was a year back.

Last week, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank announced a 22 per cent year-on-year rise in gross advances to Rs 16600 crore while total deposits grew 34 per cent to Rs 15,600 crore. Suryoday Small Finance Bank said its gross loans rose 27 per cent to Rs 4,966 crore while its deposits shrank 5 per cent to Rs 3,170 crore.