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- North East Small Finance Bank
North East Small Finance Bank Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
North East Small Finance Bank was acquired by slice for $1.4B in October 2023, a 14.8x multiple on $92M of revenue.
North East Small Finance Bank revenue at acquisition
$92M
Last twelve months · Oct 2023
North East Small Finance Bank revenue multiple at acquisition
14.8x
EV/Revenue · Oct 2023
Cumulative funding North East Small Finance Bank raised
$3M
across 1 funding round
About North East Small Finance Bank
North East Small Finance Bank is a scheduled commercial bank operating in Northeast India that delivers deposit accounts, loans, and digital banking services to small businesses, marginal farmers, and unorganized sectors. Headquartered in Guwahati, Assam, the bank converted from the Assam Rural Cooperative Bank in 2018 and holds a network of over 150 branches across seven states including Assam, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. It emphasizes technology-driven operations for microfinance and agricultural credit, serving more than 200,000 customers with assets exceeding INR 1,500 crore as of 2023.
Founded
2015
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C & B2B
Revenue model
Services
Revenue
$92M (Oct 2023)
Valuation
$68M (Mar 2023)
Sectors
North East Small Finance Bank Acquisition
North East Small Finance Bank was acquired by slice for $1.4B on 4 October 2023.
The acquisition price implies a 14.8x revenue multiple on $92M of revenue.
Before the acquisition North East Small Finance Bank had raised $3M across 1 funding round.
North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB), established in July 2016 and headquartered in Guwahati, Assam, operated as a small finance bank offering basic banking services including savings accounts, fixed deposits, and credit products primarily to individuals and small businesses in India's Northeast region. Slice, a Bengaluru-based fintech unicorn specializing in consumer payments, flexible credit, and lending services targeted at millennials via an app for everyday expense management, initially acquired a 5% stake in NESFB for $3.42 million in September 2023, valuing the bank at $68.4 million. This stake acquisition preceded the RBI's approval for a full merger in October 2023, driven by regulatory pressures such as the RBI's June 2022 ban on loading credit lines via prepaid instruments, which forced Slice to pivot from credit cards to term loans and seek banking status to accept deposits, reduce funding costs, improve lending margins, and leverage its 12 million user base for scaled operations including UPI-integrated credit. The merger unified operations, assets, and brand identities into a single entity, approved by the Competition Commission of India in March 2024 and the National Company Law Tribunal in August 2024, becoming effective October 27, 2024, and later renamed Slice Small Finance Bank in May 2025. Strategically, it combined Slice's fintech innovation, proprietary underwriting, behavioral data models, and core banking stack with NESFB's traditional banking foundation to enhance risk management, governance, stability, and customer experience while deepening penetration in the underserved Northeast market amid NESFB's prior beleaguered status. The deal marked India's first fintech-bank merger, enabling Slice to transition into a small finance bank, drive financial inclusion, expand nationwide, and achieve early post-merger improvements in asset quality, balance sheet strength, and profitability.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct 2023 | Strategic M&A | $1.4B | 14.8x |
North East Small Finance Bank Valuation
North East Small Finance Bank is currently valued at $68M, based on its strategic investment round in March 2023.
The $3M round was led by Slice.
North East Small Finance Bank valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | Strategic investment | $68M |
North East Small Finance Bank Funding History
North East Small Finance Bank has raised a total of $3M across 1 funding round.
North East Small Finance Bank funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | Strategic investment | Slice (lead) | $3M | $68M | North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB), headquartered in Guwahati, India, provides basic banking services to individuals and small businesses primarily in India's north-eastern region. Slice, an Indian fintech unicorn specializing in flexible credit and lending for millennials, invested in NESFB in early 2023, valuing the bank at $68-68.4 million. This investment acquired a 5% stake in the bank. The July 2023 investment aligned with Slice's strategy to expand into banking services amid regulatory changes by the Reserve Bank of India restricting credit lines via prepaid instruments. Slice shifted focus to term loans before pursuing deeper integration with NESFB. The deal preceded RBI approval in October 2023 for Slice to merge with NESFB, enabling Slice to transition into a small finance bank. Post-merger in October 2024, the combined entity, Slice SFB, showed operational growth with operating revenue rising to Rs 603 crore in FY25 from Rs 251 crore previously, though it reported net losses. By late 2025, it achieved profitability with Rs 27.97 crore net profit in the first nine months of FY26. |
Who has invested in North East Small Finance Bank?
1 investor has backed North East Small Finance Bank across its funding rounds, including Slice.
Lead investors include Slice.
North East Small Finance Bank Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 1 North East Small Finance Bank investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialNorth East Small Finance Bank Competitors
North East Small Finance Bank competitors include listed companies like Avarda Bank, Attijari Bank, BBVA Colombia and Community Trust Bancorp, and private ones like Kapital and Bank of London.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $293M | $1.4B | 3.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $260M | $1.4B | 5.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.8B | $1.3B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $283M | $1.4B | 4.6x | ||
| Private | - | $1.3B | - | ||
| Private | - | $1.1B | - |
North East Small Finance Bank Public Comps
North East Small Finance Bank is no longer listed, but its public comps include Avarda Bank, Attijari Bank, BBVA Colombia, First Mid Bancshares, Community Trust Bancorp, Westamerica Bancorp, BCO Estado do Rio Grande, HBT Financial, Amalgamated Financial and Laurentian Bank of Canada.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $293M | 4.7x | 3.8x | - | - | |||
| $260M | 5.3x | 5.1x | - | - | |||
| $1.8B | 0.8x | - | - | - | |||
| $342M | 3.9x | 3.3x | - | - | |||
| $283M | 4.9x | 4.6x | - | - | |||
| $258M | 5.4x | 5.5x | - | - | |||
| $1.7B | 0.8x | 0.7x | - | - | |||
| $236M | 5.6x | 4.5x | - | - | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all North East Small Finance Bank competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | |||||||
Common questions about North East Small Finance Bank
| When was North East Small Finance Bank founded? | North East Small Finance Bank was founded in 2015. |
| Where is North East Small Finance Bank headquartered? | North East Small Finance Bank is headquartered in Guwahati, India. |
| Is North East Small Finance Bank publicly listed? | No, North East Small Finance Bank was acquired by slice in October 2023. |
| Who acquired North East Small Finance Bank? | North East Small Finance Bank was acquired by slice in October 2023. |
| How much was North East Small Finance Bank acquired for? | North East Small Finance Bank was acquired for $1.4B in October 2023, a 14.8x revenue multiple. |
| What is North East Small Finance Bank's valuation? | North East Small Finance Bank was last valued at $68M in its strategic investment round in March 2023. |
| How much funding has North East Small Finance Bank raised? | North East Small Finance Bank has raised $3M across 1 funding round. |
| What was North East Small Finance Bank's last funding round? | North East Small Finance Bank's last funding round was a $3M strategic investment round in March 2023, led by Slice. |
| Who are North East Small Finance Bank's investors? | North East Small Finance Bank's investors include Slice. |
| Which companies are comparable to North East Small Finance Bank? | Companies comparable to North East Small Finance Bank include Avarda Bank, Attijari Bank, BBVA Colombia, Community Trust Bancorp, Kapital and Bank of London. |
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