Microfinance lender CreditAccess Grameen Ltd on Monday (October 12) said it has signed a $175 million (approximately ₹16,940 crore) syndicated social loan facility, qualifying as an External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) automatic route.
Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank acted as the joint mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners for the transaction, which secured participation from 10 financial institutions across Asia and the Middle East and Africa.
Despite global macroeconomic uncertainties and heightened competition in the ECB market from Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) (B) deposit mobilisation, the transaction received a strong response, with competitive loan pricing, the company said.
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The participating lenders, apart from anchor contributions from Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) and DBS Bank (GIFT City), include Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (Sri Lanka), The Korea Development Bank (South Korea), Sampath Bank PLC (Sri Lanka), SBI (Mauritius) Ltd, BCP Bank (Mauritius) Ltd, Al Masraf (United Arab Emirates), The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) and KEXIM Asia Ltd (Hong Kong).
CreditAccess Grameen said the transaction reflects continued confidence among international lenders in its business model and corporate governance standards.
This is the company’s fifth successful ECB syndication transaction in the past five years, taking the total funds mobilised through such transactions to $640 million. Foreign borrowings currently account for around 24% of its liability profile, with the company having built a lender base across 15 countries.
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During FY27, the company has also mobilised ₹940 crore through multiple private placements of non-convertible debentures (NCDs), with pricing broadly in line with its average cost of borrowings.
Nilesh Dalvi, Chief Financial Officer, CreditAccess Grameen, remarked, “The successful closure of the $175 million facility at competitive pricing, amidst global macroeconomic uncertainties and heightened competition from FCNR(B) deposits mobilisation, demonstrates the strength of CA Grameen franchise and the confidence we have earned from international lenders.
The CA Grameen brand rests on a proven performance track record, strong corporate governance standards, deep customer relationships across India’s hinterland and disciplined risk management.
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As we diversify our sources of funding, our focus remains on optimising funding costs, maintaining a robust asset-liability management (ALM) profile and strengthening balance sheet resilience to support sustainable growth and our long-term commitment to financial inclusion.”
Shares of CreditAccess Grameen Ltd ended at ₹1,320.00, up by ₹53.80, or 4.25%, on the BSE.