Page 28 - Banking Finance July 2017

INTERVIEW

website. We additionally encrypt data related to account
About Ranjit Punja
and credit card information while storing it in our system.All Ranjit Punja is the CEO and Co-Founder of CreditMantri, a
data is captured or shared only after obtaining explicit Chennai-based Fintech start-up focused on enabling effi-
consumer consent. cient credit decisions for borrowers and lenders. As a
founding member of the team, he also holds direct respon-
In which cities you are operating and any plans sibility of managing the strategic relationships.
of expansion Prior to CreditMantri, Ranjit spent 23 years with Citibank
across multiple geographies. His last stint was overseeing
We are based out of Chennai but our user base covers the
the Collections function for Citigroup’s international con-
length and breadth of the country. sumer lending businesses in 53 countries. Prior to this, he
managed the Collections operation for the U.S. credit card
Any other development you would like to share business.
We are excited to share that we raised $7.6Mn (INR 51.4 During his stint at Citi, Ranjit launched Internet Collections
Crores) in Series B funding. This round of funding was led by and real-time debit card payment processing in Australia,
Quona Capital along with Newid Capital. Our existing Philippines – a first in the industry in these geographies.
investors Elevar Equity, IDG Ventures and Accion Venture When not in office (which is getting rarer by the day),
Lab also participated. We will use the funds to strengthen Ranjit loves to be on his bike – could be a motorbike or a
bicycle. Photography and fitness are his other passions.
our core product and expand our team.

Cibil's expands bank customer base by 15 lakh every year

At a time when banks are facing burgeoning non-performing assets (NPAs) CIBIL has unveiled a system "CreditVision"
to drive access to finance to as many as 15 lakh incremental borrowers involving an asset size of Rs 68,858 crore every
year. The new system is based on algorithms which predict risk and expand credit opportunities by intensively studying
the trended data that unlocks the patterns in payment, exposure and spend behavior. These algorithms, which are
based on the past 36 months of trended data, enable identification of comprehensive and specific customer behavior
and are delivered in an easily usable and quantitative format to enable financial institutions to use these customer
insights for making more precise lending decisions. "This would pave way for possibilities to expand the retail credit
market and promote access to cheaper, easier and faster credit opportunities, which is a major aspect of financial
inclusion in this digital age," CIBIL said.
CIBIL said that the system would result into an incremental 15 lakh borrowers every year without compromising on
risk. These 15 lakh borrowers could provide Indian banks an incremental asset size of around Rs 68,858 crore, at a low
delinquency rate, CRISIL said. It will also identify an additional 20 lakh borrowers who currently have access to banking
credit, but may be eligible for higher lines of credit or higher loan-to-value which will give an incremental asset size of
around Rs 29,153 crore at a low delinquency rate. CIBIL MD and CEO Satish Pillai said, "these new age CreditVision
algorithms are a definite game changer for the credit industry which will enable phenomenal market expansion while
helping define lending strategy for a growing nation on a digital path like ours. It may be the much needed tool for
Indian credit sector which is burdened with recognized NPA".

India tops in remittance inflows

Indians working across the globe sent home $62.7 billion last year, making India the top remittance-receiving country
surpassing China, according to a UN report. The 'One Family at a Time' study by the UN International Fund for Agricul-
tural Development (IFAD) said about 200 million migrants globally sent more than $445 million in 2016 as remittances
to their families. Remittance flows grew in the last decade at a rate averaging 4.2 % annually, from $296 billion in
2007 to $445 billion in 2016. The study is the first ever of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the
period 2007-2016.

28 | 2017 | JULY | BANKING FINANCE

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