The company generally attracts its customers from the self-employed category with a monthly income between Rs 15,000 ($183.99) to Rs 60,000.
Jayaram Sreedharan, MD, said, “The level of optimism on the ground is very high. Customers are not only optimistic, they are investing more and the demand for credit is very strong.” Piramal Capital.
Credit growth in India is at a nearly 10-year high of 16.2% and banks are seeing a pick-up in demand from the corporate as well as retail sector.
This comes at a time when rating agencies have cut India’s growth forecast in the backdrop of a global slowdown. Recently, Fitch lowered the country’s growth forecast from 7.8% to 7% in FY13.
Sreedharan said the shadow lender also wants to double its balance sheet in four-five years from the current Rs 600 billion.
While the focus on the affordable housing segment continues, Piramal Capital It is also expanding its reach to new businesses such as used-car financing, gold loans and merchant financing.
As per the latest data from the central bank, there has been a growth of 16% in housing loans till the end of July as compared to the same period last year.
“Our focus is on so-called invisible populations – people who are not being seen by traditional financial services – and there is a huge opportunity for us to identify and really serve these populations,” Sreedharan said.
With business expansion, the company plans to increase its workforce from around 10,000 employees to around 15,000 employees by the end of March 2024.
Sreedharan said Shadow Bank is also looking at development through deals, though none of these talks are in the final stages.
Dewan Housing was acquired by Piramal last year finance Corp., once the country’s fourth-largest housing finance company, after defaulting on its debt.