Need strict debt recovery mechanism to boost lending: Andromeda CEO

With the economy coming back on rails post COVID-pandemic, the Reserve Bank of India may consider a strict debt recovery mechanism with regulatory backing to boost activities of lending institutions

With the economy coming back on the rails post-COVID-19 pandemic, the Reserve Bank of India may consider a strict debt recovery mechanism with regulatory backing to boost activities of lending institutions and ensure easy availability of funds for individuals, V Swaminathan, CEO Andromeda & Apnapaisa, said.

Having gone through a rough patch following the outbreak of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the lending institutions are expecting buoyancy in growth in the next financial year beginning April 1, he said.

"As the entire economy is coming back on track, we have witnessed an overall growth of around 30 per cent year-on-year across all the segments. The next financial year we are expecting to continue at the same pace, as the market sentiment is positive and the projections are progressive," Swaminathan said.

He further said that since COVID-19 struck, banks have become quite selective in terms of their exposure towards lending through partners and NBFCs as part of internal risk aversion framework, which lead to a liquidity shortage.

"...We are observing a significant change in the liquidity position after the Reserve Bank's decision to keep the rates unchanged and backing from the government. In my purview, we need to have some strict debt recovery mechanisms in place, backed by the regulatory authorities, as it will improve the revenue streams of our lending institutions," Swaminathan said.

Andromeda operates out of 68 major cities in the country, and in its two decades of operations has disbursed loans worth over Rs 15,333 crore to more than 10 lakh customers.

On plans to diversify loan portfolio, Swaminathan said the company strives to cater to its customers with tailor-made deals providing the best for their needs, which "obviously drives us to keep diversifying our product base".