Jammu, Mar 07: In a significant step towards expanding its retail lending footprint especially outside the UT and enhancing credit access, J&K Bank formally launched its co-lending arrangements with the country’s leading NBFCs – Home First Finance Company India Limited (HFFC) for the home loan segment and IIFL Finance for the gold loan segment.
Presided over by MD & CEO Amitava Chatterjee, the MoU signing ceremony was held at the Bank’s Jammu Zonal Office in the presence of Executive Director Sudhir Gupta, Chief General Managers Sunit Kumar, Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat and Rajesh Malla Tickoo, General Manager (RAM) Rakesh Magotra, DGM Aneet Kanwal Singh and other senior officers. General Manager (S & IT) Mohammad Muzaffar Wani along with General Manager & Divisional Head (ROI) Khursheed Muzaffar also attended the signing ceremony virtually.
General Manager Rakesh Magotra signed both the MoUs on behalf of the Bank while MD & CEO Manoj Viswanathan and Senior Vice President & Head – Strategic Alliances Kirti Timmanagoudar put in their signatures representing HFFC and IIFL respectively. HFFC’s Deputy CEO & CBO Ajay Khetan, Head – Treasury & Investor Relations Sunil Anjana and Product Lead – Co-lending Ajinkya Chandorkar were also present at the signing ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, MD & CEO Amitava Chatterjee described the initiative as an important milestone in the Bank’s retail growth journey. MD & CEO said, “Co-lending is a powerful model that blends the strength of our strong deposit franchise and wide branch network with the domain expertise and agile credit delivery mechanisms of the leading NBFCs. Through these partnerships, we aim to accelerate credit delivery, deepen financial inclusion and reach customer segments that require customized and timely financial solutions.”
Highlighting the Bank’s retail growth focus in rest of India, he further added, “As we continue to sharpen our strategic focus on the RoI markets, partnerships with well-established players like Home First Finance Company India Limited and IIFL Finance will help us accelerate growth in key retail segments. This collaboration will enable us to tap into new customer segments, strengthen our presence in emerging markets and deliver faster, technology-driven lending solutions.”
In his remarks on the occasion, Executive Director Sudhir Gupta extended his best wishes to both our partner institutions. He said, “As we embark on this collaborative journey, I am confident that these partnerships under the co-lending framework will create strong synergies, enabling us to expand responsible credit delivery while unlocking new growth opportunities for all stakeholders involved.”
Earlier, GM Rakesh Magotra briefed the Bank’s leadership about the strategic significance of the collaboration. He said, “In today’s evolving financial landscape, collaboration is no longer optional it is indeed a strategic imperative. And we are fully confident that will expand our credit outreach in rest of India in housing sector and Gold loans for small enterprises.”
He expressed hope that the collaborations will not only strengthen “our institutions but also transform lives through greater financial access and empowerment.”
The representatives of both the NBFCs expressed their pleasure on the signing of co-lending framework saying that the Bank’s strong credibility and strategically growing presence across the emerging business centres in the country make it an ideal partner for expanding responsible credit delivery under the key retail loan segments.
Notably, through these arrangements, the Bank aims to further strengthen its retail lending ecosystem while advancing its growth strategy across RoI markets.
