Federal Bank Limited is one of the major Indian commercial banks in the private sector headquartered at Aluva, Kerala. The Bank operates in four segments: treasury operations, wholesale banking, retail banking and other banking operations. Treasury operations include investment and trading in securities, shares and debentures. The Bank's products and services include working capital, term finance, trade finance, specialized corporate finance products, structured finance, foreign exchange, syndication services and electronic banking requirements. The Bank has its representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
The Bank offer its customers, a variety of services such as Internet banking, Mobile banking, On-line bill payment, Online fee collection, depository services, Cash Management Services, merchant banking services, insurance, mutual fund products and many more as part of its strategy to position itself as a financial super market and to enhance customer convenience.
The Federal Bank Limited was incorporated on April 23, 1931 as 'Travancore Federal Bank Limited' to cater to the banking needs of Travancore Province. It embarked on a phase of sustained growth under the leadership of Late K.P. Hormis. The Bank has a network of 1282 branches in India and provides retail and corporate banking, para banking activities such as debit and credit card, third party product distribution etc., treasury and foreign exchange business. The Bank also has its Digital Banking Unit at Kolkata, Representative Office at Abu Dhabi & Dubai and had set up an International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) Banking unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
In May, 1945, Bank opened their first branch at Alluvia and commenced operations. In 1946, they opened their second branch at Angamally. In March 24, 1947, the name of the Bank was changed to Federal Bank Ltd. In April 1947, they opened their third branch of the Bank was at Perumbavoor. In July 11, 1959, the Bank was licensed under Sec.22 of the Banking Companies Act, 1949. The Bank floated several kooris one after another. They also introduced several new deposit schemes during the same period.
In the year 1964, the Bank took over the assets and liabilities of the Chalakudy Public Bank Ltd, The Cochin Union Bank Ltd and The Alleppey Bank Ltd. In the year 1965, the St. George Union Bank Ltd was amalgamated merged with the Bank. In the year 1968, The Martha Dom Commercial Bank Ltd was amalgamated with the Bank. In the year 1970, the Bank became a Scheduled Commercial Bank.
In the year 1973, the Bank became an Authorized Dealer in Foreign Exchange and the International Banking Department of the bank was started functioning from Mumbai. In the year 1975, the Bank opened 53 branches. In the year 1976, they opened 42 branches. In the year 1982, the Bank shifted the International Banking Department to Cochin as part of consolidation and centralization of activities. As part of the organization redesigning recommended by National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM), the Agricultural Finance Department was set up in head office in November 1984.
In July 1985, the Bank set up Personnel and Industrial Relations Department. Also, they installed the first Advanced Ledger Posting Machine (ALPM-a Wipro banker) at Br. Alluvia-Bank Junction branch. In the year 1987, they inaugurated the administrative building complex. In the year 1989, the Bank entered into the Merchant Banking Operations. In March 1994, the Bank came out with the public issue. In February 17, 1997, the bank inaugurated their first ATM at Eranakulam North.
In the year 2000, the Bank started their Any Where Banking (ABB) at Bangalore connecting all branches located in the Bangalore metro. They launched Depository Services in association with NSDL. Also, they commenced Internet Banking under the name of 'FedNet' with software support from Infosys Technologies Ltd. They entered into marketing pacts with some commercial agencies for their E-commerce business.
In the year 2001, the bank made a tie up with Escotel Communications to launch mobile banking services using SMS technology. Also, they launched a new deposit scheme christened as 'Suraksha' for senior citizens. The bank became a member of INFINET, the financial network supported by RBI. In February 2002, they set up full-fledged systems for the RBI's Negotiated Dealing Systems (NDS) at the Funds & Investment Branch in Mumbai, enabling online trading in securities. In the year 2003, the Bank unveiled the Anywhere Banking that provided the convenience of doing transactions from 300-plus interconnected branches. In the year 2004, the Bank obtained the level of 100% interconnectivity among all their branches. Also, they launched an Equity Subscription Scheme, a new retail product for financing the IPOs and public issue applications of their own customers. The Bank joined hands with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd for premium collection through their branches and introduced new Fed e-Pay services.
In the year 2005, JRG Securities Ltd forged an alliance with the Bank for providing loans for subscribing to initial public offers (IPOs). The bank emerged as the first bank in India to offer Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) across all of their branches.
In September 2, 2006, Ganesh Bank was amalgamated with the Bank and the 32 branches of erstwhile Ganesh Bank of Kurundwad Ltd were successfully integrated to bank's network. During the period of 2006-07, the Bank entered into a joint venture agreement with IDBI Ltd & Fortis Insurance International N V for incorporating a Life Insurance Company under the name of IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd.
During the year 2007-08, the Bank opened their Representative office at Abu Dhabi, Capital of UAE for the gateway of the bank to the whole of Middle East and also as an interface between their existing customers of GCC countries and its Branches /Offices in India. In March 2008, the Bank's joint venture life insurance company, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company Ltd commenced their operation.
During the year 2009-10, the Bank opened 60 new branches and 115 new ATM centres. During the year 2010-11, they opened 71 new branches and 73 new ATMs. As on March 31, 2011, the total number of branches and ATMs of the Bank increased to 743 and 805 respectively, as against 672 and 732 in the last financial year. As of March 31, 2011, the Bank had two A category branches and 78 branches designated as B category for handling the foreign exchange business.
Federal Bank opened 66 branches across the length and breadth of the nation on the occasion of the bank's 66th Founders Day on 18 October 2011. In November 2011, the bank launched its second 24x7 Customer Care Contact Centre manned by differently able people. In December 2011, Federal Bank signed Inward Remittance Agreement with Samba Bank, one of the largest banks in Saudi Arabia (KSA).
In January 2012, Federal Bank's Islampur branch became the first branch to implement ICT model Financial Inclusion product FedJyothi' in Maharashtra. During the month, Federal Bank launched Fast Biz Visa International Business Debit Card to SME/Corporate Clients.
In March 2012, Federal Bank formally launched 100 branches on a single day, pan India, taking the total number of branches 935. In April 2012, Federal Bank launched IMPS, the instant interbank fund transfer service through mobile phone by which the amount is instantly credited to the account of the beneficiary.
In August 2012, Federal Bank opened its 1000th branch at Tiruvalla Muthoor in Kerala. In December 2012, the total employee strength of the bank crossed 10,000.
Federal Bank's 3rd Currency Chest in Mumbai was inaugurated in March 2013. During the month, the bank's 'Money Exchange Bureau' was inaugurated at Trivandrum International Airport. Federal Bank crossed Rs 1 lakh crore of total business at the end of financial year 2012-13.
In May 2013, Federal Bank introduced Value Added Services (Travel, Tax Advisory Service) to NRI customers through website. In June 2013, Federal Bank entered into a tie up with Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd (TCPSL) for acting as the sponsor bank for white label ATMs to be deployed by TCPSL. Federal Bank is the first bank in India to be the sponsor bank for White Label ATMs
In August 2013; Federal Bank launched FedBook, the first electronic passbook launched by a bank in India. FedBook is a mobile app through which customers can view their passbook details.
Federal Bank's total number of branches crossed 1,150 in February 2014. The bank continued to expand its footprint and added 32 branches and 47 ATMs during the quarter ended 31 March 2014 to take the tally to 1,174 branches and 1,359 ATMs as on 31 March 2014.
The bank added 29 branches and 33 ATMs during the quarter ended 30 June 2014 to take the tally to 1,203 branches and 1,392 ATMs as on 30 June 2014. During the quarter ended 30 September 2014, Federal Bank added 11 branches and 43 ATMs to take the tally to 1,214 branches and 1,435 ATMs as on 30 September 2014.
Federal Bank opened its first International Standard 24 X 7 Banking facility christened Federal Experience Center on 21 November 2014 at Nedumbassery, Kochi.
In March 2015, Federal Bank joined hands with Startup Village in Kerala and MobME wireless to launch India's first focused FinTech Accelerator Programme, a unique programme that aims at speeding up technological innovations in the financial sector space.
In May 2015, Federal Bank and SBI Card announced their collaboration to launch Federal Bank-SBI co-branded credit cards. Through this alliance Federal Bank launched two new variants of Visa credit cards for its customers, namely Platinum and Gold N More.
In June 2015, Federal Bank launched Scan N Pay, an innovative payment app for smart phones. The bank also launched Mobile Recharge facility through its ATMs.
The shareholders at the last Annual General Meeting of the Bank held on 29 June 2015 had approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one equity share of the Bank for every one share held having a face value of Rs. 2/- each. The allotment of bonus shares was made on 10 July 2015 to those shareholders of the Bank as on 09 July 2015 being the record date, fixed for the same. The Bank allotted 85,79,45,206 fully paid up Equity Shares as bonus shares which also includes One Global Depositary share (GDS) issued as bonus for every GDS held to the existing holders as on the record date.
In August 2015, Federal Bank launched its first digital loan Fed-E-Credit, an online loan against deposit facility. During the month, the bank enabled Card-to-Card fund transfer facility through its ATMs and also launched FedBook Selfie - a mobile based savings banks (SB) account opening application which is first of its kind in India.
In October 2015, Federal Bank became the first bank to introduce Currency Conversion Desk and mobile ATM facility at the Cochin Port, facilitating passengers of cruise ships to exchange currency upon arrival. During the month, the bank introduced Missed call based banking services for Balance Enquiry and Mini Statement. During the month, Federal Bank became the second bank to open an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). In December 2015, Federal Bank introduced Missed call based banking services for Mobile Recharge.
In January 2016, Federal Bank introduced Missed Call based banking services for Fund transfer. In March 2016, Federal Bank launched Payment Gateway facility for KSEB electricity Bill payment.
In April 2016, Federal Bank entered into a strategic partnership with Phillip Capital (India) Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Singapore headquartered Phillip Capital group, for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to NRIs.
The Bank had 1252 branches and 1516 ATMs as on 31 March 2016. During the year, the Bank had opened additional branches and ATMs during the year to improve its footprint throughout the country including un-banked centers as per RBI's guidelines. The Bank had opened maximum number of branches in the chosen states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
In June 2016, Federal Bank launched Launchpad', an exclusive outlet for start-ups. Launchpad' is a one stop facility providing a range of advisory services in addition to customized banking offerings to budding entrepreneurs who wish to set up start-up ventures in diverse sectors like Digital Financial Services, Biotechnology, Hi-Tech Farming, Healthcare, Logistics, E-Commerce/E-Markets etc.
In August 2016, Federal Bank launched its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application 'Lotza'. Built on the concept 'Accounts of different Banks on one App', Lotza offers seamless and secure financial transaction capability between accounts of different Banks through a single app.
On 15 November 2016, Federal Bank announced that RBI has given its approval to the bank to open a representative office in Manama, Bahrain and also to open a branch in DIFC, Dubai, UAE.
The Credit Committee & Investment and Raising Capital Committee of the bank at its meeting held on 29 June 2017, approved the issue and allotment of 21.55 crore equity shares to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) at the issue price of Rs 116 per share aggregating to Rs 2500 crore. The Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) issue was closed on 27 June 2017.
The Bank had 1252 branches and 1667 ATMs as on 31 March 2017. It also has its Representative Office at Abu Dhabi & Dubai and an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
On 8 November 2017, Federal Bank announced that the Reserve Bank of India has given its approval to the bank for opening representative offices at Kuwait and Singapore. With the opening of these offices, the bank will be able to widen its services to NRI Diasporas and also enhance the international visibility of the bank.
In FY 2017-18, the paid up capital of the Bank was increased by an amount of Rs 431034482 by allotment of 215517241 equity shares of Rs 2/- each raised by way of qualified institutional placement and Rs 9500 by allotment of 4750 shares by way of release of rights abeyance shares.
The overseas Representative Offices, the officers in GCC countries and the NR virtual desk continue to play a major role of the bank's NRI customer acquisition. In FY 18, the bank entered into Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) tie up with three prominent broking firms for NRIs to invest in Indian Equity market.
The total business of the bank crossed the milestone figure of Rs 2 lakh crores in Q4 March 2018. The bank also delivered its highest operating profit of Rs 589 crore in Q4 March 2018.
During the year 2018, in Agri business, the Bank had partnered with Supply Co.; Kerala in financing the paddy growers in Kerala and the arrangement facilitated association with large number of small & marginal farmers and the Bank.
As on 31st March 2018, the Bank had two A' category branches and eighty-eight 'B' category branches/ offices for handling foreign exchange business. Entire Foreign Exchange / Trade Finance Transactions are centralized to extend timely and efficient service to forex clients and improve effectiveness of the branches. During FY 18, the Bank in foreign exchange business introduced the concept of Trade Hubs in all metro cities and other major centres to bring more efficiency in handling trade transactions.
On 11 May 2018, Federal Bank informed the stock exchanges that the Reserve Bank of India accorded approval to the bank for acquisition of up to 19.90% of the equity capital of Equirus Capital Private Limited (ECPL) as against approval of the Board of Directors of the bank for acquisition of a significant minority stake of up to 26% of ECPL. Earlier, on 22 February 2018, the Board of Directors of the bank approved acquisition of a significant minority stake of up to 26% of ECPL, a financial services company, subject to statutory and regulatory approvals and satisfactory completion of financial and legal due diligence. On 11 May 2018, Federal Bank and Fedbank Financial Services Limited (Fedfina), a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank, entered into definitive agreements for Fedfina to issue fresh equity shares, subject to statutory and regulatory approval, constituting 26% of the post-issue paid up share capital of Fedfina, to a fund managed by True North Enterprise Private Limited.
On 12 June 2018, Federal Bank and Equirus Capital Private Limited (ECPL) entered into definitive agreements for investment by the bank upto 19.89% in the equity share capital of Equirus Capital Private Limited.
Total business of the Bank improved by 20.21% to reach at Rs 245177.29 Crore as on 31 March 2019. Also 20.50% growth in deposits and 19.86% growth in advances (net) helped the bank to clock this number. Total deposits reached Rs 134954.34 Crore and advances (net) reached Rs 110222.95 Crore and on averages, deposit portfolio of the bank grew by 19.09% to reach Rs 116752.51 Crore and advance portfolio grew by 24.33% to reach Rs 98337.60 Crore.
During FY 2019, the bank conferred with the 1st Runner-Up award under the Overall Best Bank' category among Banks with asset size below Rs 1,50,000 crore, at the 11th edition of Magna Awards 2019' instituted by the Business World'.
The Bank has 1251 branches and 1669 ATMs and 269 cash recyclers as on 31 March 2019.
During the year 2019-20, total business of the Bank improved by 11.98% to reach at Rs 274557.99 Crore and 12.85% growth in deposits and 10.93% growth in advances (net) helped the Bank to clock this number. The total deposits reached Rs 152290.08 Crore and advances (net) reached Rs 122267.91 Crore and on averages, deposit portfolio of the Bank grew by 17.93% to reach Rs 137688.94 Crore and advance portfolio grew by 16.02% to reach Rs 114095.06 Crore.
The Bank has won NSDL special recognition award for The First Bank in India to offer online demat account opening facility and Best Innovative Strategy of the year by CII-CDT& ETBFSI Excellence Awards 2019 for the category Most Innovative partnership strategy of the year- by a Bank, instituted by Economic Times.
The Bank has 1263 branches and 1937 ATMs and cash recyclers as on 31 March 2020.
During the year 2020-21, total business of the Bank improved by 10.91% to reach at Rs 304523.08 Crore and 13.37% growth in deposits and 7.86% growth in advances (net) helped the Bank to clock this number. The total deposits reached Rs 172644.48 Crore and advances (net) reached Rs 131878.60 Crore and on averages, deposit portfolio of the Bank grew by 13.31% to reach Rs 156016.40 Crore and advance portfolio grew by 8.10% to reach Rs 123337.38 Crore.
The Bank has 1272 branches, 1947 ATMs/Recyclers and 10 Mobile ATMs as on March 31, 2021.
The Board of Directors of the Bank had pursuant to its Resolution passed on June, 16 2021, subject to the consent of the Members, approved the issue and allotment of up to 10,48,46,394 Equity Shares of Face Value of Rs. 2/-each at an issue price of Rs. 87.39/- each under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018.
During FY 2020-21, the Bank upgraded various digital platforms, such as FedNet, Lotza and FedBook (for retail customers); FedCorp, Corporate FedNet, Paylite and Fed-E-Biz (for corporate and SME customers). These upgradations led to enhanced experience and security for customers.
In FY 2021-22, 71,979 personal loans amounting to Rs. 770 Crore were disbursed to customers through self-service facilities.
During the year 2021-22, total business of the Bank improved by 7.26% to reach at Rs 3,26,628.92 Crore and 5.25% growth in deposits and 9.90% growth in advances (net) helped the Bank to clock this number. The total deposits reached Rs 1,81,700.59 Crore and advances (net) reached Rs. 1,44,928.33 Crore and on averages, deposit portfolio of the Bank grew by 8.54% to reach Rs 1,69,339.74 Crore and advance portfolio grew by 9.03% to reach Rs. 1,34,478.77 Crore.
The Bank's Joint Venture Life Insurance Company, in association with IDBI Bank Limited and Ageas Insurance International N.V. (formerly known as Fortis), namely Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company Limited ('formerly known as IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Limited'), commenced operations in March 2008. As on March 31, 2022, the Bank has a total stake of Rs. 208 Crores in the equity of the Company holding 26% of the equity capital. The total premium collected by Ageas Federal Life Insurance Company Limited during the period ended March 31, 2022 was Rs. 2,207.30 Crores.
During FY 2021-22, the Bank added 12 new branches.
In January 2021, Bank launched facility for renewal of gold loans online through Fed-e-Point, the self-service portal for customers.
In February 2021, Bank introduced FedFirst, a customized savings account for kids.
Bank launched a dedicated portal that would make the process of subscribing to Millionaire Federal Savings Fund deposit products for NRIs hassle-free in March 2021.
Bank introduced Self-Service Passbook Printing Kiosks at select branches. Federal Bank became the first bank in the country to go live with Google Business Messaging in April 2021.
Federal Bank's own Credit Cards like Celesta, Imperio and Signet were launched for Existing to bank Pre-Approved customers. It launched Card Tokenization with Google Pay (Visa Debit cards) in June 2021.
Bank introduced Fed Smart Saver Gold Loan Scheme, an innovative gold loan scheme that rewards the promptly repaying smart customer with 50% of the interest as rebate in Aug'21.
In September 2021, Federal Bank partnered with Fintech partners Fi and Jupiter Money for customized Neo banking experience to Resident Individuals for providing banking services to the unbanked areas .
In October 2021, Bank launched Imperio Family Banking, which is an impeccable banking service which is designed to suit the uniqueness of the targeted mid-HNI customer segments. It is a tailor made banking solution that offers a bouquet of premium class lifestyle offerings and a whole host of banking services at a discounted rate.
In December 2021, Bank launched MahilaMitra Plus, an exclusive savings account for women that offers curated set of features, designed to make financial planning and investments easy and hassle free.
In January 2022, Bank introduced a Green Deposit Scheme for special tenor of 2222 days, the proceeds of which will be exclusively utilized for funding the Green loan portfolio.
In FY'22, two new features were added to the Bank such as authentication-based passbook printing and loan against deposit facility for instantaneous loans of desired amount to pre-approved customers through OTP-based authentication. Apart from this, self-service cheque deposit kiosks were introduced across 96 branches to reduce the counter transactions. The Bank tied up with fintech companies Epifi Technologies Pvt Ltd (Fi) and Amica Technologies Pvt Ltd (Jupiter) to provide personalised, user-centric banking and investment experience primarily focused on tech-savvy salaried individuals and millennials. Through the partnership, it provide savings accounts, recurring deposits, debit cards, payments and UPI services to users.
In FY'22, the Bank announced launching of Federal One Card. The proposition was unique as the card being made of Metal and built with full stack tech, backed by the principles of simplicity, transparency, and giving back control to the user. The OneCard app developed in partnership with M/s FPL Technologies provides the best of experiences for the Indian Credit Card consumer which helps to manage the end-to-end card life cycle for a customer from card application, issuance, card controls, rewards, offers and payments. The partnership helped to acquire a good number of new to Bank happy credit card customers in 6 months of launch.
In FY' 22, the Bank tied up with two Health Insurance partners Turtlfin (Star Health Insurance & Aditya Birla Health Insurance) for distributing insurance products digitally. It went live with three Account Aggregators - NESL Asset Data Limited, Finvu & Onemoney. Presently, two integration are under process - Anumati and CAMSFinServ.
The Bank integrated with Maruti Smart Finance for instant car loan approval (for preapproved existing customer) in a few clicks at dealer location in FY'22. It launched sovereign gold bond distribution option in FedMobile. It tied -up with Cred Avenue for technology solution to manage direct assignment/ securitization portfolio. It launched an online lending platform, federalinstaloans.com' for quick and hassle-free credit approvals for MSMEs. It launched investment portal in FedMobile that focuses on seamless and hassle-free digital on boarding of Mutual Fund business. It launched completely digital journey for issuing Credit Cards (for pre-approved existing customers) and Secured Credit Cards (for non-resident existing customers) with instant issuance of virtual credit card. The Bank introduced Imperio account for high net worth individuals (HNIs) and seafarer account for niche but opulent seamen community during the financial year 2022.
The Bank has 1355 branches and 1916 ATM/Recyclers (including 2 Mobile ATM's) as on March 31, 2023.
During the FY 2023-24, the Bank has added 141 new banking outlets taking the total count of banking outlets to 1504 as on March 31, 2024. Out of total banking outlets, 259 are in metros, 216 are in rural, 742 in semiurban and 287 in urban. Apart from above, the Bank has 2015 ATMs/ Recyclers Including 2 mobile ATMs as on March 31, 2024. The Bank also has its Digital Banking Unit at Kolkata, Representative Office at Abu Dhabi & Dubai and an International Financial Service Centre (IFSC) Banking unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
In 2024, the Bank opened 26 new branches across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Further, Bank opened 5 branches in the North East on March 28, 2024.