Equitas SFB, J&K Bank, ESAF SFB shares plunge up to 6% as Q1 biz updates fail to impress investors

The shares of Equitas Small Finance Bank plunged nearly 6 percent on July 7 after the company reported a drop in asset quality and micro finance loans for the April-June quarter. ESAF Small Finance Bank and Jammu & Kashmir Bank shares also recorded significant losses.

The sharp fall in the share prices of the three lenders comes amid an overall downturn in bank stocks. Nifty Bank closed in the red at 56,949, with AU Small Finance Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank leading losses.

Equitas Small Finance Bank

Equitas Small Finance Bank reported provisional gross advances at Rs 38,304 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2026. This marked a rise of over 9 percent from the Rs 34,871 crore gross advances reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. However, its gross advances in the micro finance and micro loans segment declined over 34 percent to Rs 3,916 crore during the quarter under review.

Total deposits, meanwhile, rose over 18 percent on-year to Rs 37,524 crore, while CASA deposits grew over 11 percent on-year to Rs 13,053 crore. CASA ratio stood at 29 percent, lower than the 31 percent reported in the year-ago period.

The lender's asset quality worsened, with overall net slippage rising from 2.38 percent in Q1FY25 to 4.35 percent in Q1FY26. Micro finance segment saw the worst rise in net slippage, from 4.98 percent in Q1FY25 to a whopping 19.75 percent in Q1FY26.

The shares of the company tumbled nearly 6 percent to close at Rs 64.11 apiece on July 7.

ESAF Small Finance Bank

ESAF Small Finance Bank reported a nearly 9 percent rise in total deposits to Rs 22,698 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2026. This however is around 2.5 percent lower than the Rs 23,277 crore total deposits reported in the previous quarter (Q4 FY25).

CASA deposits improved on-year to Rs 5,628 crore, but fell nearly 3 percent sequentially. The bank's gross advances however declined around 3 percent on-year to Rs 18,224 crore. This was largely driven by a 39 percent on-year drop in its micro loans segment.

The shares of the lender dropped around 2 percent to close at Rs 34.29 apiece on July 7.

The Jammu & Kashmir Bank

The Jammu & Kashmir Bank on July 7 reported a 10 percent on-year rise in total business to Rs 2.50 lakh crore for the April to June quarter of the current financial year. Its total deposits meanwhile grew over 12 percent on-year to Rs 1.48 lakh crore.CASA deposits grew 3 percent on-year to Rs 67,900 crore, but CASA ratio declined to 45.71 percent. The shares of the lender dropped nearly 3 percent to close at Rs 111 apiece.