Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank), founded by Centrum Financial Services and BharatPe, is betting on branch banking as it looks to leverage its capabilities on the digital front and strike multiple partnerships across products.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted a banking license to Unity Bank in October 2021 and it commenced operations the following month.

In 2022, crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank) was amalgamated with Unity Bank after the Centre notified a scheme of arrangement.

Unity Small Finance Bank is now looking beyond Maharashtra and eyeing a presence across the country.

The lender on November 17 opened five branches in Bengal. It plans to open five more branches in the state over the next few months. Of these three will be in Calcutta and one each in Asansol and Durgapur.

Speaking to The Telegraph, veteran banker Jaspal Bindra, executive chairman, Centrum group, said the bank will continue to expand in eastern India.

"Earlier we were concentrated in terms of branches, we were largely in Maharashtra. We are now reaching out across the country,’’ he said.

Bindra said the bank is opening 5-10 branches every month which will almost double the number of branches to 300 within a year.

"We will then use this physical presence and leverage it with our online offering through the digital route. We will also leverage it through collaborations with many partners across specific products, customer segments and geographies’’, he said.

Bindra said the objective is to have some presence in each state and that it will also examine tie-ups with third-party service providers.