Kotak Mahindra to offer Rs 1 crore loan to MSMEs, becomes first private bank to join PM's 59-minute initiative

Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced that it has become the first private sector lender to join MSME loan platform psbloansin59minutes.com, say media reports. It offers in-principle approval on loans of up to Rs 1 crore to MSMEs. The portal provides applicants with an eligibility letter and in-principle approval after the bank is chosen.

Ambuj Chandna, Senior Executive Vice President, and Head, Consumer Assets, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We are delighted to join psbloansin59minutes.com and participate in the Government of India’s initiative to facilitate easier access to credit to MSMEs.”

Psbloansin59minutes.com recently became the country's largest online lending platform after sanctioning loans worth over Rs 35,000 crore to MSMEs. A report by global financial firm Credit Suisse had confirmed that this figure has given the title to the fintech portal.

Manoj Mittal, DMD, SIDBI, said, “The on-boarding of Kotak Mahindra Bank is an important milestone for the portal. In addition to making a wide choice of credit products from Public Sector Banks available to MSMEs registering on the platform, they now also get an option to access private sector lenders as well. This is true democratisation of finance for the MSME segment.”

The portal was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2018 and aimed to make credit access and banking for MSMEs transparent and hassle-free. Rajiv Kumar, Secretary, Financial Services, guided the design of the platform to ensure loans were disbursed to MSMEs in seven to eight days after approval.

He had said, “The automated loan processing system has not only brought in ease but is also fostering transparency. It has put an end to the discretion at the bankers' end because in-principle approval of loans for MSMEs now does not require human intervention.”

It was also reported that more than 1.62 lakh MSMEs have been approved for a loan since the portal’s launch, and that 1.12 lakh MSMEs got the final nod. Further, 35,517 units got new loans worth Rs 10,047 crore, while 77,369 units received renewal loans of Rs 25,609 crore.

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