Kotak Mahindra Bank buys business loans book of Barclays India

With this acquisition, Kotak will have 6,000 customers with total loans outstanding of about Rs 700 crore

Kotak Mahindra Bank today said it has acquired business loan portfolio from Barclays Bank's India branch and Barclays Investment and Loan. The acquisition is in line with the private lender's strategy to add value to its existing business lines as it strengthens its business loans portfolio.

"The strategic intent behind this acquisition is to further grow our business loans portfolio for chosen client segments. Business loans are an important element in our segmented offering. This acquisition also gives us a very good set of customers who can be offered our entire suite of banking products," Paul Parambi, head of group strategy at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said in a statement.

"We have an appetite for further acquisitions, which can strategically create value for us and will actively seek such opportunities," Parambi said.

The acquisition will help Kotak Mahindra Bank in gaining access to around 6,000 business loan customers. The outstanding loan portfolio is estimated at Rs 700 crore. The acquired loans are classified as standard assets as per the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) guidelines, the private lender said.

"Barclays confirms the acquisition of its business loans portfolio in India to Kotak Mahindra. Our growth in India is focused on our competitive strengthens providing services to multi-nationals and large corporates, utilising our offerings in international banking such as cash management and trade finance, as well as providing wealth management and investment banking services," the foreign lender said in a statement.

In early 2012, Kotak Mahindra Bank had acquired the non-performing portfolio of Barclays' credit card business in India. The stressed card portfolio was estimated to be around Rs 250-300 crore.

Barclays had sold its performing cards portfolio in India to Standard Chartered Bank. The foreign lender had indicated that it would exit its retail and business loans businesses here.