On this page ▾
We do not publish one number for RBL Bank — and here is why.
On today's figures the market pays roughly 6.0 times what our model says RBL Bank is worth. On a company this widely followed, a gap that large almost always means our model is missing something rather than that thousands of investors are wrong. So we show the workings and say plainly that we cannot stand behind a single figure here.
- How it is valued: no single figure is published here — our model and the market disagree too far.
- What the price assumes: 29.8% return on equity, against 5.6% the model takes from its own record.
- Ten-year record: Between FY2019 and FY2026, RBL Bank's revenue went from ₹7,743 crore to ₹18,464 crore — it compounded at about 13% a year over 7 years.
- Biggest swing factor: Return on equity. Main risk: Unsecured stress.
01From Ratnakar Bank to RBL Bank
RBL Bank began as Ratnakar Bank in Kolhapur in 1943. Under new management from 2010 it grew into a mid-sized private bank, with big credit-card and microfinance books.
In late 2021 the RBI appointed a director to its board and its long-time chief executive stepped down. The bank has since focused on rebuilding deposits and asset quality.
02What the market is assuming
Work backwards from today's share price and you can see what buyers are quietly taking for granted. Here is the return on equity that price implies for RBL Bank, next to what the model assumes from the company's own record.
The further apart these two numbers are, the bigger the bet a buyer at today's price is making.
03RBL Bank's record, in plain numbers
Between FY2019 and FY2026, RBL Bank's revenue went from ₹7,743 crore to ₹18,464 crore — it compounded at about 13% a year over 7 years. It reported a net loss in FY2022, and closed the period with net profit of ₹879 crore. In FY2026 it kept 4.8% of revenue as net profit — against a low of -1.5% in FY2022 and a high of 11.1% in FY2019. The latest year added 3.6% to revenue, well behind its own long-run pace.
Revenue and earnings per share in ₹, return on equity and leverage as ratios — all from the filed statements.
Revenue and net profit by year (₹ crore)
| Year | Revenue | Net profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2019 | 7,743 | 861 | 11.1% |
| FY2020 | 10,697 | 500 | 4.7% |
| FY2021 | 10,610 | 529 | 5.0% |
| FY2022 | 10,796 | -166 | -1.5% |
| FY2023 | 12,056 | 920 | 7.6% |
| FY2024 | 15,454 | 1,260 | 8.2% |
| FY2025 | 17,819 | 717 | 4.0% |
| FY2026 | 18,464 | 879 | 4.8% |
04How RBL Bank gets valued — and why
Estimate withheld — model and market disagree too farOur model and the market disagree so far apart on this company that the model is the more likely one to be wrong. Rather than publish a number we cannot stand behind, we show the workings and say so.
05What decides RBL Bank's value
Return on equity
Lifting thin returns is the core question.
Cards and microfinance
High-yield books drive margins and credit costs.
Deposits
Building retail deposits lowers costs.
Asset quality
Defaults in unsecured loans swing profit.
06What could go wrong
- Unsecured stress. Cards and microfinance can sour quickly.
- Governance. Past regulatory intervention weighs on trust.
- Funding. Deposit outflows can raise costs.
07What the full RBL Bank valuation shows
Sign in free to see the complete RBL Bank valuation
- ✓The full model workings — and exactly where the model and the market part ways
- ✓Every assumption — growth, returns and cost of capital, with sources
- ✓Bull, base and bear cases — and exactly which assumptions move between them
- ✓Peer comparison — against IDFC First Bank, Yes Bank and Federal Bank
- ✓Downloadable report — the full write-up, yours to keep
08Questions people ask about RBL Bank
What was RBL Bank called before?
Ratnakar Bank, founded in Kolhapur in 1943.
What happened at RBL Bank in 2021?
The RBI appointed a director to its board and its chief executive stepped down.
Why are RBL Bank's returns low?
High credit costs in cards and microfinance.
Is RBL Bank overvalued?
At ₹386 the market is pricing in roughly 29.8% sustained ROE, against the ~5.6% its own record supports. That is more than it has delivered, so the price is justified only if the business can hold a rate it has not previously sustained.
What is the intrinsic value of RBL Bank?
This business is a group of operations with different economics, so a single blended figure would describe none of them. The parts are valued separately and the breakdown is in the report, rather than one number that cannot be defended.
How much debt does RBL Bank carry?
Debt to equity stands at 1.04, against 1.00 at the start of the period — the balance sheet is a core input to the cost of capital used here.