Yes Bank raises $200 mn from ADB for financial inclusion

Yes Bank Tuesday said it has successfully raised a loan of $200 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to take forward its objective of financial inclusion in India.

The equivalent amount of $200 million in INR (Rs.12,684,000,000) would be used to finance working capital and investment loans to small households, rural entrepreneurial women and self-help groups in India.

Most of the amount borrowed would go into the financing of small agro-sector businesses.

In addition to the sanctioned loan amount, ADB would also be providing a grant upto USD one million for technical assistance aimed at capacity building. Yes Bank would be using the grant to aid the rural women's literacy drive and further its premier Yes Leap programme.

The Yes Leap programme is developed under the bank's inclusive and social banking initiative to promote inclusive growth based on market principles.

"This significant commitment from ADB reiterates our focus towards responsible banking and furthering the financial inclusion agenda in our country," the banks' MD and CEO Rana Kapoor said.

The bank is currently experimenting with various models of providing direct micro-credit in urban, semi-urban and rural settings across various geographical and socio-economic contexts.

It offers micro-insurance and micro-savings services to its customers and is planning to launch a micro-remittance service soon.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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