India’s HDFC Bank clinches $500m to support microlending for women

The loan will enable the bank to grow its microlending to women, HDFC said.

The loan will enable the bank to grow its microlending to women, HDFC said.

HDFC Bank has received $500m in financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support lending to women in India.

In a press release, HDFC bank said that it will use the funds for microloans aimed exclusively for women borrowers.

The funds will be funnelled to self-help groups (SHGs) and joint liability groups (JLGs) enrolled in the bank’s sustainable livelihoods initiative (SLI).

“IFC’s loan will further enable [HDFC Bank] to grow its microcredit and microlending to women, especially allowing SHG and JLG borrowers to graduate to individual lending schemes,” the bank said in a statement.

ALSO READ:India’s HDFC Bank penalised by state tax officer of Gujarat

In India, non-bank financial companies and in particular microfinance institutions (MFIs) have served as the major means for women to get loans for income-generation purposes, accounting for 65.7% of total microfinance lending in India, HDFC noted.

In total, there are approximately 47 million clients in India in this space, with an aggregate gross loan portfolio of $31.6b as of 31 December 2024.

Banks account for 40% of the total microlending in the country, with microloans constituting a small proportion of their total lending portfolios.

HDFC Bank

IFC

Can't Login? Sign up for an account

Email address The email address is not made public. It will only be used if you need to be contacted about your account or for opted-in notifications.

Password

Confirm password

Provide a password for the new account in both fields.

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Already have an Asian Banking & Finance account? Login

Can't log in?

Return to login

Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

I want to download the media kit