Manappuram Finance Ltd., a Kerala-based listed non-banking finance company, will focus on providing collateral based loans to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector as part of its diversification programme, said a top executive.
“We have been lending against gold and recently entered the micro financing sector by acquiring Tamil Nadu-based Asirvad Microfinance,” said V.P. Nandakumar, promoter, managing director and CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd.
“Now, we want to be active in MSME sector through collateral-based lending. We will also use fintech analysis for personal loan lending.”
Mentioning that it was always better to concentrate on more than one product, he said, “We will be expanding or strengthening the existing products and enter into a new segment. Recently, we expanded our portfolio by lending for commercial vehicles and affordable housing sectors. Offering gold loans at doorstep was another initiative,” he said.
Regarding its recent entry into microfinance sector, he said when the when firm was took over in 2014, it had loan coverage of 85% in Tamil Nadu and now it has been reduced to 25%. “It does not mean that the disbursal has come down, but, we have gone to other States,” he said. As on date, Manappuram Finance has Asset Under Management of ₹17,000 crore, of which nearly 75% was in the form of gold loan.
