Citi rejigs cards & retail finance

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Mumbai, Aug 5: earlier 450 or so). “As you grow and get in more direct sales agents, you begin to lose control over origination. We have re-established the method of origination. We have cut down some branches that did not look good. Now, we have an optimal number of branches and cities,” he said.

Citifinancial India, which saw a 64% drop in profits in the first half of FY08, is now focusing on collection efforts, making greater use of mobile commerce and also depending on analytics. “We have identified segments which are behaving badly in some cities and are fine-tuning them. That will help us decide which segment to originate the business from. We’re not getting away from it, because then borrowers go back to the moneylender,” Nayar said.

The distribution channels will now be used to sell more products. “If there is someone with an unsecured loan, we can sell them a secured loan, and, maybe, even a small unit-linked insurance plan. The service, turnaround time and processes will now distinguish us from competition.”

The SME portfolio, he said, could see stress from many angles. “Interest rates, fuel, rupee movements will all affect SMEs first. We had already begun to tighten the origination methodology: whom we are banking with, who the promoters are. So far, things are alright, but that is potentially an area which could deteriorate.”