Muthoot Microfin raises Rs 562 cr via securitisation

Muthoot Pappachan group's micro-lending arm raised Rs 561.7 crore through asset securitisation in the December quarter, when the non-bank lending segment was facing huge troubles with liquidity.

With this, the total amount raised through securitisation by the IPO-bound Muthoot Microfin has crossed Rs 1,300 crore during the first nine months of the fiscal.

"Securitisation helps us raise funds for expansion and leverage our capital efficiently to help maximise returns for shareholders," chief executive Sadaf Sayeed said.

Securitisation refers to transactions wherein a lender sells a portfolio of future receivables.

Commercial banks wanting to meet their priority sector lending requirements have bought the portfolio, a statement from the company said, adding public sector banks have bought Rs 845 crore of its portfolio this fiscal while the rest was snapped up by private sector banks.

Its peer Manappuram Finance's micro-lending subsidiary Asirvad Microfinance had recently securitised over Rs 611 crore of assets during the current fiscal.

Securitisation by non- bank lenders and housing finance companies during the first nine months of the fiscal shot up to Rs 1.44 trillion from the Rs 84,000 crore in the year ago period as these lenders faced liquidity troubles, according to domestic ratings agency Icra.

The funds raised through this route help such companies meet their repayment obligations.

Stating that all the transactions undertaken by his company are through the direct assignment route, Sayeed said it is a win-win where NBFCs are able to raise resources while banks are open to it as it doesn't qualify as exposure to the troubled NBFCs.

The company, which has a network in 16 states serving 1.3 million borrowers, said it is likely to come up with a public issue in the near future.