Credit Saison India receives Rs 540-crore capital infusion from parent firm

Digital non-banking finance company Credit Saison India has received Rs 540 crore in fresh capital from its Japanese parent Credit Saison Company, taking the total equity infusion to Rs 1,600 crore.

The Bengaluru-based digital lender said the latest capital infusion came from Saison International, the global business division of the parent, in two tranches.

Credit Saison India has disbursed over a million loans since inception in 2019 to consumers, SMEs, fintechs and other NBFCs, and has an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 5,000 crore. It targets to take the AUM to over Rs 8,000 crore over the next next 12 months.

When it comes to funding, the NBFC is backed by State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and MUFG Bank among others, said Presha Paragash, chief executive of the company.

"We want to enable growth of accessible credit in India and we believe the USD 1 billion AUM target is only a stepping stone for the India business given the huge underserved market for credit here," said Kosuke Mori, chief executive of Saison International.

Credit Saison was founded in 1951 as a credit card issuer in Japan. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and as a group has a balance sheet of USD 32 billion. With over 36 million cardholders it is among the top credit card issuers in Japan.

Later, it evolved as a diversified financial services provider with presence across leasing, payments, finance, real estate and entertainment.