SMFG India Credit has secured $175 million through an external commercial borrowing (ECB) facility from Standard Chartered Bank and CTBC Bank, according to a release.
SMFG India Credit plans to use the funds to expand its lending portfolio and support customers across various segments.
“With this funding, we aim to strengthen our lending capabilities, ensuring greater access to credit for individuals and businesses while maintaining a prudent risk management framework,” Pankaj Malik, chief financial officer, SMFG India Credit, said in the release.
Operating in India since 2007, SMFG India Credit Co. Ltd., earlier known as Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd., is a leading NBFC – Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India and a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan-headquartered global banking giant SMFG.
The company, along with SMFG India Home Finance (also known as SMFG Grihashakti), is present in more than 670 towns and over 70,000 villages catering to the underserved retail and small business borrowers providing them SME financing, commercial vehicle and two-wheeler loans, home loans, home improvement loans, loans against property and shares, personal loans, and rural livelihood advancement loans.
NBFCs in India has played a significant part in increasing the financial inclusion rate and serve the low-income group and MSMEs ignored by the traditional banking system. Poor access to financial services has been a challenge for the rural sector.
Capital raised by the NBFCs through the ECB route reached a five-year high in 2024 after a slowdown in traditional banks’ lending to the sector. NBFCs secured a total of Rs 3.64 lakh crore in 2024, the highest since 2019, according to data from PRIME database.
