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The Bhagini Nivedita Sahakari Bank Ltd. (BNSBL) was formally established on March 24, 1974, in Pune, Maharashtra. It was founded by Shri Vivek Dadhe, a Chartered Accountant, and his wife, Mrs. Meenakshi Dadhe, with the specific and pioneering mission of encouraging the development of a cooperative society for women and promoting their financial independence. The institution was named in honor of Bhagini Nivedita (Sister Nivedita), the Irish disciple of Swami Vivekananda, reflecting its core ethos of service and women's empowerment, where the term 'Bhagini' signifies woman power. The founders recognized and aimed to leverage the inherent qualities of financial prudence and perseverance in women by establishing a bank to be "managed by women for All."

As an Urban Co-operative Bank, BNSBL operates as a part of the vast network of cooperative credit institutions in India, making its current status private in the sense of being member-owned and governed by a board, but regulated by both the Reserve Bank of India and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies. Its significance in the Indian financial system lies in its successful execution of a women-centric model, being an all-woman created and managed bank focused on offering financial freedom, primarily in Maharashtra. BNSBL provides a variety of financial products, including housing, business, and educational loans, and has been recognized for its operational excellence, receiving awards such as the Sahakarnishta Award from the Government of Maharashtra and accolades for maintaining a low ratio of Non-Performing Assets (NPA) within the Pune cooperative banking sector.