IFMR Capital structures Rs 98-cr debt from 11 MFIs

Non-banking lender IFMR Capital today said it has structured the first CBO (collateral bond obligation) deal in the micro-lending space in the country, involving 11 MFIs' non-convertible debentures (NCDs) totalling Rs 98 crore.
The deal will help these micro-lenders access the debt capital markets. The CBOs, rated BBB+, are at least three notches above the credit ratings of the individual issuers, the Chennai-based NBFC said in a statement here.
The CBO issuers include Annapurna Microfinance, Asirvad Microfinance, Arohan Financial Services, Disha Microfin, Future Financial Services, India School Finance Company, Intrepid Finance & Leasing, Pahal Financial Services, Suryoday Microfinance, SV Credit Line and Svasti Microfinance.

The CBOs issuers include 11 MFIs and small business lenders whose end-customers are either self-employed individuals from the financially excluded segment or the ones employed in informal sectors.
All participating companies are first-time issuers of NCDs, IFMR Chief Executive Kshama Fernandes said.
IFMR Capital previously pioneered the multi-originator securitisation. It has to date structured many such multi- issuer securitisation transactions in the microfinance and small business loans.

It has so far completed securitisation deals worth Rs 167 crore with four participating originators and 1,46,111 microloans.
"This transaction illustrates our efforts in developing scalable structures for meeting the requirements of our clients and investors. The diversification, credit enhancement and our participation ensured that a large number of our clients issued maiden bonds," Fernandes siad.

No single issuer accounted for more than 13 per cent of the deal size, and the NCDs have a common repayment date and frequency. The CBO transaction is partially guaranteed by two guarantors.
IFMR has raised over USD 1.3 billion for its clients till date and its institutional clients are active in over 370 districts across 24 States, reaching over 6.6 million active borrowers.