Publish Date : 18-Sep-2017
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan of up to $200 million with IndusInd Bank to provide finance to low income women borrowers in rural India. The 7-year senior loan will go toward IndusInd Banks microfinance activities.
The agreement was signed by Christine Engstrom, Director in ADBs Private Sector Operations Department, S Zaregaonkar, IndusInd Banks Chief Financial Officer, and Arun Khurana, Head of IndusInd Banks Global Markets Group, at a ceremony in New Delhi.
ADB is proud to partner with IndusInd Bank, one of Indias premier lenders, in its efforts to expand finance to underserved people in Indias less developed states, said Ms. Engstrom. ADB's financing and technical assistance is a signal of our continued commitment to increase financial inclusion in India, particularly to low income women and their families.
At least 95% of ADBs funding for the project will be used to provide credit to women borrowers, and at least 70% of the number of loans will be deployed in Indias less developed states. A capacity building technical assistance of $1 million is expected to be part of the package. It will support IndusInd Banks efforts to improve financial literacy to women borrowers and to develop digitized processing and product development initiatives.
This significant agreement with ADB will help IndusInd Bank to further enhance its inclusive banking franchise and extend finance to women borrowers in less developed states of India, providing impetus to the banks financial inclusion and corporate social responsibility agenda, said Romesh Sobti, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IndusInd Bank.
IndusInd Bank is a pioneer in the business correspondent lending model, a low-cost way for financial institutions to reach poor and marginalized segments of society through institutions such as microfinance lenders who have large distribution networks on the ground. IndusInd Bank works with these microfinance institutions providing micro-loans to women through the joint liability group model. The ADB loan aims to reach an additional 200,000 low income members by 2020.
IndusInd Bank, listed on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges, is the sixth largest private bank in the country. It has a nationwide network of 1,210 branches.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.
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