By Dominick Rodrigues 

Mumbai : Edelweiss Retail Finance Limited (ERFL), an arm of the Edelweiss Group, is strengthening its existing Co-Lending partnership with Central Bank of India (CBoI), one of India’s largest commercial banks for Priority Sector Lending to MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises).  

Both lenders recently signed a new MoU under RBI’s CLM, significantly expanding the portfolio of lending products available to MSMEs, who can now avail of collateral free business loans up to Rs 50 lakhs as against Rs 10 lakhs earlier, while also availing of LAP Loans (with property backed collateral), up to Rs 10 crore.  Building on the success of their partnership, the lenders have collaborated to introduce specially designed products with increased loan limits for the MSME segment.  

With the pandemic causing big disruption that resulted in businesses being hit badly globally, co-lending can provide the much-needed impetus with greater access to credit as this is also in line with the strategic objective of being asset light and building a high-quality lending book, Deepak Mittal, Head, Edelweiss Credit Business Group, said, adding “We are happy to partner with a reputed institution like Central Bank of India to provide easier access of credit to MSMEs, who form the backbone of the Indian economy and help drive financial inclusion and democratise access to credit.’’  

Highlighting the partnership with Central Bank of India towards unlocking higher business value and delivering a digitally enhanced experience to MSME borrowers, Mehernosh Tata, CEO, Edelweiss Retail Finance Limited described this arrangement as a win-win for their tieup, MSMEs and banks in helping channelize credit to the priority sector through lending in a credit-starved economy. ’