SKS securitises loans worth Rs 321 cr

SKS Microfinance Ltd, India's only listed micro lender today said it has completed securitisation of Rs 321 crore with four banks.

The move follows two other transactions worth Rs 243 crore and Rs 354 crore in January and February. There have been six transactions this fiscal, totalling Rs 918 crore.

In addition, the company had obtained term loans worth Rs 240 crore from three public sector banks. All these add up to a debt inflow of Rs 1,158 crore.

Two rated-pool assignment transactions worth Rs 221 crore and two non-rated assignment transactions worth Rs 100 crore from two public sector and two private banks totals to Rs 321 crore, SKS said in a statement.

The company, however, did not disclose the names of the banks citing non-disclosure agreements.

The present set of four transactions worth Rs 321 crore has been obtained at an annual interest rate of 12%, priced 150 basis points lower than the previous two transactions, it added.

According to SKS Chief Financial Officer S Dilli Raj, fund flow has been gaining momentum in the recent months with the overall environment turning positive for the micro finance sector.

"Contributing in a big way to such optimism is the fact that the RBI has issued guidelines for the NBFC-MFIs on December 2, 2011 coupled with the firm steps taken by the Central Government to table the Microfinance Institutions Development and Regulation Bill in the present session of Parliament," Raj said in a statement

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee¿s special mention of the Government's decision in this regard during his Budget speech last week was a positive, he added.

SKS has completed 15 assignment/securitisation transactions post the AP MFI Act.

The pool comprises receivables from micro women borrowers from the weaker section as defined by the RBI. Pool receivables are identified from 18 non-Andhra Pradesh states where SKS operates, it added.

All these rated papers have shown robust collection efficiency of more than 98%. Credit enhancement has not been utilised in any of these structures, SKS said.

Shares of SKS were quoting at Rs 133.50 a piece on BSE, up 4% in the early trade.