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Bandhan: The Making of a Bank
This is the story of Bandhan, the only bank that emerged in eastern India after Independence. Founded by the son of a sweet vendor, with a mere Rs 2 lakh, the sum total of his life savings.
On 17 June, 2015, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh stepped out of the Reserve Bank of India building in Mumbai with the much-coveted banking licence, beating some of the country's top corporate houses. This moment compensated for all the frustrations that had come along the way. A year later, Bandhan Bank was launched with 6.7 million small borrowers.
So, how did Ghosh build India's biggest MFI from scratch and then, along with his team, transform it into a universal bank? The Making of a Bank chronicles that journey.
This is also Ghosh's personal story-of a boy growing up in small-town Agartala struggling with poverty, but relentless in his ambition to make it big. He battles competition, hostile moneylenders, a tough economic climate and the perpetual lack of resources. Nobody in India perhaps knows better than him the psyche of a small borrower and the alchemy of doing business with the poor, profitably.
This is one of India's biggest entrepreneurial stories.
On 17 June, 2015, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh stepped out of the Reserve Bank of India building in Mumbai with the much-coveted banking licence, beating some of the country's top corporate houses. This moment compensated for all the frustrations that had come along the way. A year later, Bandhan Bank was launched with 6.7 million small borrowers.
So, how did Ghosh build India's biggest MFI from scratch and then, along with his team, transform it into a universal bank? The Making of a Bank chronicles that journey.
This is also Ghosh's personal story-of a boy growing up in small-town Agartala struggling with poverty, but relentless in his ambition to make it big. He battles competition, hostile moneylenders, a tough economic climate and the perpetual lack of resources. Nobody in India perhaps knows better than him the psyche of a small borrower and the alchemy of doing business with the poor, profitably.
This is one of India's biggest entrepreneurial stories.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2016
54 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Tamal Bandyopadhyay
18 books56 followersTamal Bandyopadhyay is an Indian business journalist, known for his weekly column on banking and finance Banker's Trust published in Mint, an Indian business daily brought out by HT Media Ltd. He has authored four books namely From Lehman to Demonetization: A Decade of Disruptions, Reforms and Misadventures Bandhan: The Making of a Bank, Sahara: The Untold Story and A Bank for the Buck.
He is popular for his weekly column on banking and finance called Banker's Trust which is published every Monday. His frequent blog Banker's Trust Real Time on livemint.com analyses major developments in the financial sector.
Between April and November 2011, he ran a 32 episode series on Bloomberg India TV, called Banker's Trust, where senior central bankers, commercial bankers, and economists were interviewed every week.
Releasing Tamal's first book, A Bank for the Buck, in November 2012, then finance minister P Chidambaram said, "In a period of great financial illiteracy, it's refreshing to have a book written by somebody very literate about matters relating to finance". In his foreword to the book, former governor of Reserve Bank of India, Y. Venugopal Reddy, wrote, "It's a sort of recent oral history of a financial institution. Tamal has set a new trend in the dissemination of knowledge."
Tamal's second book, Sahara: The Untold Story, details the beginnings and the current day working of the secretive Sahara India Parivar. Well researched, with umpteen interviews with people concerned including Subrata Roy, the book was also cause of a stay order later requested by the Sahara group. In December 2013, the Sahara India Pariwar, moved Calcutta High Court, got a stay on the publication of the book and filed a Rs 2 billion defamation suit against the author and its publisher, Jaico Publishing House.[8] In April 2014, both the parties reached an out of court settlement following which the book carries a disclaimer by Sahara which says, among other things, the book has "defamatory content" --something unprecedented in Indian publishing history, as narrated in Sue the Messenger by Subir Ghosh, with Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. [9]
He has also published a book of poems in Bengali Anupam Meenrashi in January 2014.
He is popular for his weekly column on banking and finance called Banker's Trust which is published every Monday. His frequent blog Banker's Trust Real Time on livemint.com analyses major developments in the financial sector.
Between April and November 2011, he ran a 32 episode series on Bloomberg India TV, called Banker's Trust, where senior central bankers, commercial bankers, and economists were interviewed every week.
Releasing Tamal's first book, A Bank for the Buck, in November 2012, then finance minister P Chidambaram said, "In a period of great financial illiteracy, it's refreshing to have a book written by somebody very literate about matters relating to finance". In his foreword to the book, former governor of Reserve Bank of India, Y. Venugopal Reddy, wrote, "It's a sort of recent oral history of a financial institution. Tamal has set a new trend in the dissemination of knowledge."
Tamal's second book, Sahara: The Untold Story, details the beginnings and the current day working of the secretive Sahara India Parivar. Well researched, with umpteen interviews with people concerned including Subrata Roy, the book was also cause of a stay order later requested by the Sahara group. In December 2013, the Sahara India Pariwar, moved Calcutta High Court, got a stay on the publication of the book and filed a Rs 2 billion defamation suit against the author and its publisher, Jaico Publishing House.[8] In April 2014, both the parties reached an out of court settlement following which the book carries a disclaimer by Sahara which says, among other things, the book has "defamatory content" --something unprecedented in Indian publishing history, as narrated in Sue the Messenger by Subir Ghosh, with Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. [9]
He has also published a book of poems in Bengali Anupam Meenrashi in January 2014.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 20, 2021
Though insightful and inspirational at times. Author has given to much details at times giving book a look of record logger. Most of the Bandhan related places (if mentioned) were given with Street level address..
Also second half of the book was related to another business personality, I am not sure whether it was audible mistake or physical copy also has that portion.
Also second half of the book was related to another business personality, I am not sure whether it was audible mistake or physical copy also has that portion.
November 5, 2023
Best book on building a bank for the poor. Solving real-world problem Rs 1,0000 at a time.
July 5, 2017
BANDHAN - NGO to a BANK
This book offers insight in to how a micro finance institution coverts to a full fledged financial institution. It is very informative as it gives a brief history about rural credit system and micro finance scenario in India. It is an inspirational story on many levels. It is about how Chandra Sekhar Ghosh transforms a small organization in to a financial institution/bank. Author also mentions about people like Vijay Mahajan and Vishnu Akula who played an important role in institutionalizing micro credit system.
This book is strictly for people who are interested in poverty alleviation, rural credit system and micro finance institutions. It is a bit unfair to expect entertainment from author.
This book offers insight in to how a micro finance institution coverts to a full fledged financial institution. It is very informative as it gives a brief history about rural credit system and micro finance scenario in India. It is an inspirational story on many levels. It is about how Chandra Sekhar Ghosh transforms a small organization in to a financial institution/bank. Author also mentions about people like Vijay Mahajan and Vishnu Akula who played an important role in institutionalizing micro credit system.
This book is strictly for people who are interested in poverty alleviation, rural credit system and micro finance institutions. It is a bit unfair to expect entertainment from author.
April 26, 2020
Must read book to know about Micro Finance Institutions in India. Starting from the birth of MFIs to getting the license from RBI for banking.
The of journey of Bandhan Bank is really astonishing & inspiring.
The founding MD & CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is the symbol of true Entrepreneurship in the 21st century in India.
The of journey of Bandhan Bank is really astonishing & inspiring.
The founding MD & CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is the symbol of true Entrepreneurship in the 21st century in India.
October 31, 2024
Brilliant account of building a bank and a very detailed history of the micro finance industry
December 3, 2016
The book is interesting in parts, and the reason for that is either the editor or the author.
Tamal's writing makes for easy reading. He starts off with a chapter on what happens when Bandhan becomes a bank. He then moves back to the origin of the idea of Bandhan, and even before that. My issue with the book was the constant back and forth across timelines in each chapter, as well sometimes within a page.
Not sure what purpose is achieved by say an event in 2009, followed by an event in 2012, and then writing "before all of that" and going back to 2002 - all within a space of one or two pages. The years are just examples, I have not gone back to check out the exact years mentioned in the book.
The other issue I have with Tamal/editor is the inconsistency in the use of the numbering system throughout the entire book. This seems to be a problem with many of our financial newspapers too. Either it is fashionable to them to mix millions with crores, or plain laziness, not to stick to either the Indian numbering system or the American one. Also, I wonder how many pages could have been saved if the data about which MFI was funded when and by whom was presented in tabular format, instead of it being put down in paragraph form. If the idea of a table in a book like this was not acceptable to the author, editor or publisher, perhaps, they could have avoided the level of detail on the numbers too.
The book is most interesting from Chapter 7 - On the Way to Becoming a Bank onwards. Personally, I found the Appendix the most interesting, as well as the chapters on Vijay Mahajan & Vikram Akula.
Tamal's writing makes for easy reading. He starts off with a chapter on what happens when Bandhan becomes a bank. He then moves back to the origin of the idea of Bandhan, and even before that. My issue with the book was the constant back and forth across timelines in each chapter, as well sometimes within a page.
Not sure what purpose is achieved by say an event in 2009, followed by an event in 2012, and then writing "before all of that" and going back to 2002 - all within a space of one or two pages. The years are just examples, I have not gone back to check out the exact years mentioned in the book.
The other issue I have with Tamal/editor is the inconsistency in the use of the numbering system throughout the entire book. This seems to be a problem with many of our financial newspapers too. Either it is fashionable to them to mix millions with crores, or plain laziness, not to stick to either the Indian numbering system or the American one. Also, I wonder how many pages could have been saved if the data about which MFI was funded when and by whom was presented in tabular format, instead of it being put down in paragraph form. If the idea of a table in a book like this was not acceptable to the author, editor or publisher, perhaps, they could have avoided the level of detail on the numbers too.
The book is most interesting from Chapter 7 - On the Way to Becoming a Bank onwards. Personally, I found the Appendix the most interesting, as well as the chapters on Vijay Mahajan & Vikram Akula.
May 6, 2017
This book is certainly not what I expected and it blew me away. This book is part history, part business, part biography and a must read for those who are interested in financial inclusion and rural banking. Tamal has deep knowledge of the Indian banking industry and the nuggets of information that he gives will probably not be found anywhere. Mainly this book deals with the trials and tribulations of Sanjay Ghosh who set up an NGO to empower the poor which turned into a microfinance which turned into a bank. The path was not easy and the book highlighted some interesting problems like no net connectivity as monkey bit the cables and how he overcame them. The book not only covers Bandhan but other MFI like SKS and BFSL. This is a comprehensive book on the Indian microfinance industry and highly recommended to others.
March 10, 2018
Overstretched book
A 50 page story stretched to 300 pages. Its more like an directory with hundreds of names and addresses, not even a sentence goes without them. One whole chapter dedicated to minute budget details eg. 10rs for ballpen etc. Disgustingly boring. Left midway
A 50 page story stretched to 300 pages. Its more like an directory with hundreds of names and addresses, not even a sentence goes without them. One whole chapter dedicated to minute budget details eg. 10rs for ballpen etc. Disgustingly boring. Left midway
November 19, 2020
Microfinance as a concept is very interesting and reading this book opens the entire science and economics behind microfinance .
The Story of Bandhan is fascinating for how a small loan lent to a group of women selling vegetables leads to making of a world class financial institution .
The Story of Chandrashekhar Ghosh and how he built an institution from a scratch , gets into too many details which could bore you at times , but then it is a long story over a very long period of time . Some methods of mr ghosh were draconian but then that is how u build such a business .
Overall a fair read if the micro lending intrigues you . I doubt if we would have any other book which will give you more insights into the working of small unorganised lending .
Finding out the last quarter results of Bandhan (PAT of 925 Cr in Sep 20 ) , will only leave you in awe of Mr. Ghosh and his team .
Inspiring
The Story of Bandhan is fascinating for how a small loan lent to a group of women selling vegetables leads to making of a world class financial institution .
The Story of Chandrashekhar Ghosh and how he built an institution from a scratch , gets into too many details which could bore you at times , but then it is a long story over a very long period of time . Some methods of mr ghosh were draconian but then that is how u build such a business .
Overall a fair read if the micro lending intrigues you . I doubt if we would have any other book which will give you more insights into the working of small unorganised lending .
Finding out the last quarter results of Bandhan (PAT of 925 Cr in Sep 20 ) , will only leave you in awe of Mr. Ghosh and his team .
Inspiring
June 13, 2021
NGO to NBFC to Bank.
- Initial chapters focus on Ghosh and how he started Bandhan as an NGO. The working ways of different NGOs in poverty alienation.
- Bandhan's journey from a branch in Kolkatta to having lots of branches across West Bengal, North-East, and other neighbouring states.
- How an MFI(Micro Finance Institution) works and how Bandhan worked to provide loans to its borrowers plus maintain a bad loan rate of just 0.2 throughout their NFI journey.
- Talks about Bandhan working manual and also about the working style of Ghosh.
- Later chapters focus on its journey towards being a bank. Explains in details how it all unfolded and what all things are required for an MFI to be a bank.
A good book to get yourself introduced to the MFI industry and know about Bandhan's journey till now.
- Initial chapters focus on Ghosh and how he started Bandhan as an NGO. The working ways of different NGOs in poverty alienation.
- Bandhan's journey from a branch in Kolkatta to having lots of branches across West Bengal, North-East, and other neighbouring states.
- How an MFI(Micro Finance Institution) works and how Bandhan worked to provide loans to its borrowers plus maintain a bad loan rate of just 0.2 throughout their NFI journey.
- Talks about Bandhan working manual and also about the working style of Ghosh.
- Later chapters focus on its journey towards being a bank. Explains in details how it all unfolded and what all things are required for an MFI to be a bank.
A good book to get yourself introduced to the MFI industry and know about Bandhan's journey till now.
September 1, 2022
Bandhan is a very well written story of the first Micro Finance Institution to get a banking license. Tamal starts the book giving a clear context on MFI landscape at the time of Bandhan. The book explains in detail about Bandhan founder, company working culture and differentiation from other MFI. There is a chapter dedicated to people in Bandhan who played a pivotal role in it's growth. The chapters dedicated to preparation for banking license and then starting of the first branch makes for an interesting read. The Appendix is very detailed giving a short description in each of MFI existing and then a separate section speaking about the relationship of the government with MFI and the death knell ordinance of the AP government which literally killed MFIs.
November 21, 2020
One day, Mr Ghosh saw women vegetable sellers taking a ₹500 loan from a man and giving him ₹5 for tea. This money lending and interest payment was an eureka moment and the idea of Bandhan Bank came into existence. This is a story of social entrepreneurship and the formation of Bandhan NGO into Bandhan NBFC and bank.
The book reads like several essays and if I may say so, a documentation of company's history. I found myself skipping pages and at most of the time, it was too informative.
The book lacked flow and the author moved back and forth between events in quick succession for unknown reason. I got tired of trying to continue and had to quickly skim through.
The book reads like several essays and if I may say so, a documentation of company's history. I found myself skipping pages and at most of the time, it was too informative.
The book lacked flow and the author moved back and forth between events in quick succession for unknown reason. I got tired of trying to continue and had to quickly skim through.
January 19, 2023
Tamal has captured every nitty-gritty of MFI industry in real simple manner that one can gain enough knowledge. Insightful peace of writing, on one hand covering success story of Bandhan and his founder Mr. Ghosh and on other hand briefed about dreadful journey of BASIX and SKS ( Vijay Mahajan and Vikram Ankula) in light of poor management, lack of execution abilities and promulgated AP law against operations of MFIs.
****Enjoyed this book more giving my background and working experience with most of the named MFIs and NBFCs.
****Enjoyed this book more giving my background and working experience with most of the named MFIs and NBFCs.
May 16, 2023
Covering a lot of Indian banking history, Bandhan: The Making of a Bank is filled with anecdotes and facts that amaze. The book captures the story of one of India’s biggest entrepreneurial ventures, and the author manages to bring out the essence of undying hope and the clarity of thought behind the successful setting up....
Read more @ Full Review.
Read more @ Full Review.
January 18, 2018
Not Particular Insights from this book., Its too many characters and there is no flow to the book. Its like reading facts facts facts from the annual report or from the news paper etc.
The sad part is the author is in the Board of the Bandhan.
P.S : I stopped midway reading this book., Dont want to waste my time, Moved on to the next one.
The sad part is the author is in the Board of the Bandhan.
P.S : I stopped midway reading this book., Dont want to waste my time, Moved on to the next one.
February 20, 2020
Good book to get an overview of the MFI sector, its origins, trials and tribulations and the key characters involved in this industry. The characterization of Mr Ghosh is very interesting and it is commendable how this “non-outsider” of a banker managed to bring about scale and efficiency in his venture. A good read overall.
March 4, 2018
What could have been a very interesting subject turns out a drab compilation of sequence of events in Bandhan’s journey. Lots of dates, names , branches thrown around with which reader cant connect with Ghosh’s struggles in building Bandhan. Ok for a one time read given the upcoming IPO
January 27, 2019
It's a brilliant account of the history of MFIs in India and how MFIs are trying to eradicate poverty through a sustainable for profit business model. Great story of Bandhan becoming a bank from MFI and the difference between traditional banks and Bandhan
August 30, 2020
Microfinance banking
Detailed narration of a successful start-up and growth of Bandhan Bank from non profit NGO to for profit nonbanking to fully functional bank in such a short time span. Gives an Intel about microfinance operations and structure.
Detailed narration of a successful start-up and growth of Bandhan Bank from non profit NGO to for profit nonbanking to fully functional bank in such a short time span. Gives an Intel about microfinance operations and structure.
November 20, 2017
Making a fortune from the bottom of the pyramid!!!
January 8, 2018
Great story of institution building and frugality of Mr. Ghosh.
January 21, 2018
Really Nice book to get insights into the Micro-Financr sector of India.
August 5, 2018
Good book
Good book on micro finance and need for rural financial inclusion for growth. Also, you get to know how government can destroy industries for its political benefits.
Good book on micro finance and need for rural financial inclusion for growth. Also, you get to know how government can destroy industries for its political benefits.
March 20, 2019
Lots of unnecessary information like names, places, numbers, dates. It would have been much effective in a 50 page story book. Overall good insights in MFI industry
February 8, 2022
Nice story from no where to everywhere
December 17, 2023
Tamal kills it again
Would have liked a little less dates and names - but eh - still a vv cool book
Would have liked a little less dates and names - but eh - still a vv cool book
September 28, 2025
It was an interesting book to read with an ongoing MF crisis in India. It shares the story of Bandhan from being a non-profit to NBFC/MFI to getting a universal banking license. Apart from the inspiring rags to riches story, my key takeaways were the challenges of running a finance institution catering to underprivileged section of people. This was well summarised by the fall of many MFIs which were documented at the end of the book.
January 9, 2019
The remarkable rags to riches story of Chandrasekhar Ghosh, and how he ended up starting India’s newest bank. What makes the book special is that it is accessible and focusses on the human element of the story, rather than boring technical details on the evolution of the MFI and the bank
April 28, 2024
Too factual. Closed it after the first 100 pages.
March 1, 2017
I absolutely loved the book because it gives insights about Micro Finance industry. It talks about how MF helps people coming out of poverty. It also talks about what almost killed micro finance industry. How political people for votes kill an industry and actually play with future of people indirectly. This book also gives glimpses of various Govt. schemes which failed because of corruption and poor lending practices as they were necessarily freebes.
MFI's were no saints in totality but the regulations should have come earlier like 10% interest differential cap as irresponsible step by govt almost killed the dreams of thousands of poor people.
Lastly I would like to write what Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said "Poor don't care about free money but they use interest money judiciously. "
MFI's were no saints in totality but the regulations should have come earlier like 10% interest differential cap as irresponsible step by govt almost killed the dreams of thousands of poor people.
Lastly I would like to write what Chandra Shekhar Ghosh said "Poor don't care about free money but they use interest money judiciously. "
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews