The country’s largest non-banking finance company-micro finance institution (NBFC-MFI) CreditAccess Grameen, has secured a $100 million multi-currency syndicated social loan facility, qualifying as an external commercial borrowing (ECB), under the automatic route of the Reserve Bank of India.
The facility was initially launched for a base size of $70 million in November 2024. It achieved oversubscription, resulting in commitments being upsized to $100 million from seven banks, a press release said.
This ECB facility is the first of its kind in India’s microfinance sector, comprising Japanese yen and US dollar, predominantly raised from banks in South Asia and the Far East, the release said.
“The all-in borrowing cost of this transaction is highly competitive, comparable to domestic borrowing rates, and lower than our average cost of borrowing. We are confident of building on this momentum towards our dedicated target of 25-30% foreign borrowings by FY28,” CFO Nilesh Dalvi was quoted as saying in the release.
This transaction marks the second syndicated loan facility led by Standard Chartered Bank for the company. The bank previously acted as the sole mandated lead arranger and book runner for the company’s landmark $200-million syndicated ECB in 2023.