Post DHFL acquisition, Piramal Capital to open 100 branches

Having access to over 10 lakh customers post acquisition of DHFL last year, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance plans to open 100 branches and expand to 1,000 more cities in coming years

Having access to over 10 lakh customers post acquisition of DHFL last year, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance (PCHFL) plans to open 100 branches and expand to 1,000 more cities in coming years.

In September 2021, PCHFL completed acquisition of debt-laden Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), thereby creating one of the largest housing finance companies in the country.

PCHFL has now access to over 1 million (10 lakh) customers across 24 states with a network of 301 branches, PCHFL said in a release on Tuesday.

To address diverse financing needs of the under-served 'Bharat' market, the company plans to expand its operations to about 1,000 cities in the next three years, with physical presence in about 500-600 cities.

In the next 12 months, it expects to open another 100 branches, the company said.

"We have integrated the two organisations to create one consolidated firm. There has been no attrition among employees of the erstwhile lender, and we have been able to finalise roles for everybody. We are hiring across DHFL branches and we are working towards reigniting business origination from all branches," said Jairam Sridharan, Managing Director, PCHFL.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the overall asset under management (AUM) of the company increased 42 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 66,986 crore post the DHFL merger.

"The acquisition has enabled us to diversify our loan book and scale up retail lending portfolio. We will differentiate by reaching out to borrowers in India's smaller towns and cities, especially the salaried and non-salaried customers," Sridharan added.

The retail loan book increased 4.3-times from the preceding quarter to Rs 22,273 crore. The share of retail loans increased from 11 per cent in June 2021 to 33 per cent as of September 2021, the company said.

The company aims to increase the proportion of retail loans over a period of time. Currently, two-thirds of the book is wholesale, and the rest is retail. In the medium-to-long term, the company will increase the retail loans, first to half of the book, and then to two-thirds of the book.

"Our multi-product offerings cater to the needs of the underserved customers in the tier 2, 3 cities of Bharat, as we aim to be the lender of choice for budget-conscious customers. We will use technology to understand the risk profile of customers and we are introducing new products other than housing loans via small business loans, MSMEs or other unsecured lending, Sridharan added.

Also, the company said it intends to have a broad ecosystem of fintech companies, merchants and electronic aggregators, and a platform to originate customers.

It currently has nine partnerships and is scouting for tie-ups with another 20 technology firms to originate business. The company is also betting on the emerging trend of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL).

"BNPL is an interesting product proposition which allows customers to convert the purchase directly into some instalments, usually without paying any interest if it is for a short term. We like the business and are originating a lot of customers using this model. Of the nine digital partnerships that we already have, some are already doing BNPL," Sridharan said.