Sundaram Home Finance has plans to double its small business loans (SBL) branch network over the next 12 months. As part of its growth strategy, the company is looking to expand in Telangana, which will be its first outside Tamil Nadu in the SBL segment.
Foraying into the segment in October 2022, the company opened 25 exclusive SBL branches in tier-III and IV towns in Tamil Nadu in the first phase. It is planning to grow the SBL branch network to 50.
Sundaram has opened SBL branches a number of small towns in Tamil Nadu, and has registered disbursement of Rs 65 crore in the SBL segment in the first year of operations.
Lakshminarayanan Duraiswamy, managing director, said “We have made a steady progress in the SBL segment establishing a solid presence in tier 3 and 4 towns in Tamil Nadu. While we will look to strengthen our existing branches, we are set to foray in locations outside the state in phase two of our expansion.”
Under the segment, Sundaram Home Finance offers loans of up to Rs 20 lakh against house properties to small traders, shop owners and entrepreneurs.
Lakshminarayanan said, “We are currently in the process of identifying pockets of opportunities in smaller towns of TN and Telangana and expect to finalise these in Q4 this year. We expect new branches to become fully operational next year.”
The company has announced plans to expand into the affordable housing segment and is looking to open 10 branches and hire up to 75 people in the initial phase. It reported a net profit of Rs 117 crore on disbursements of Rs 2,307 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2023.