Page 6 - Banking Finance February 2026

BANK UPDATE

Exim Bank raises $1 billion basis points. The bonds are rated BBB- The partnership will allow the bank to
by Fitch Ratings, in line with Exim offer bank-anchored UPI services to
through dual-tranche over- Bank's issuer rating. payment aggregators, NBFCs, mer-
seas bond issue The securities will be listed in chants and fintech companies, support-
Export-Import Bank of India has suc- Singapore, London and India. Proceeds ing high-volume payment and collec-
cessfully raised $1 billion from overseas will be used for general funding pur- tion workflows. A key focus area is the
markets through a dual-tranche, long- poses, including financing overseas in- expansion of UPI-based lending and
tenor U.S. dollar bond issuance, mark- vestments and imports of capital collections. Through TechFini's UPI
ing India's first such offshore debt deal goods. Autopay solution, lenders working with
in 2026. According to merchant bank- TMB will be able to automate EMI and
ers involved in the transaction, the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank loan repayments using UPI e-man-
lender raised $500 million through 10- ties up with TechFini to dates, improving efficiency and pre-
year bonds at a coupon of 5.00 per dictability while reducing reliance on
cent, priced at a spread of 85 basis strengthen UPI infrastruc- cash or legacy mechanisms.

points over the 10-year U.S. Treasury ture TechFini's platform supports UPI acquir-
yield. A further $500 million was Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has ing, issuing, TPAP services, UPI plugins
mobilised through 30-year bonds at a entered into a partnership with and Autopay, with infrastructure de-
coupon of 5.75 per cent, at a spread signed to handle up to 10,000 transac-
TechFini to enhance its UPI acquiring
of 95 basis points over the correspond- and issuing capabilities, as banks scale tions per second. The collaboration
ing U.S. benchmark. up digital payment infrastructure to reflects the growing trend of bank-
The pricing came in well inside initial support rising transaction volumes and fintech partnerships in India's evolving
guidance of 115-140 basis points, re- advanced use cases. Under the ar- UPI ecosystem.
flecting strong investor demand. Ana- rangement, TechFini will act as a Tech-
lysts at CreditSights noted that the nology Service Provider, enabling a Axis Finance launches
achieved spreads were aggressive, cloud-native and scalable UPI backend Vyapar business loan for
with fair value estimated at 90-105 for TMB.
MSMEs in semi-urban and
rural markets
SBI awards Rs. 1,000 crore ATM cash-outsourcing
Axis Finance has announced the launch
contract to CMS of Axis Finance Vyapar Business Loan,
State Bank of India has awarded a Rs. 1,000 crore, 10-year cash-outsourcing a collateral-free credit product aimed
contract to CMS Info Systems, marking the first large-scale direct cash-man- at improving access to formal finance
agement outsourcing deal by a public sector bank. The contract covers for micro and small enterprises across
around 5,000 SBI-owned ATMs across the country and is scheduled to go semi-urban and rural India. The prod-
live in January 2026. uct is designed for entrepreneurs op-
erating in retail, service and trading
Under the agreement, CMS will provide end-to-end managed services, in- segments, offering loans of up to ?10
cluding cash replenishment, logistics and technology support, with the ob-
lakh with flexible repayment tenures
jective of improving cash efficiency and ensuring higher ATM uptime. The
and no collateral requirement.
move is expected to enhance service reliability for millions of SBI customers
while optimising operational costs for the bank. The new offering seeks to address the
persistent credit gap faced by small
CMS Info Systems, which provides logistics and technology solutions to banks businesses, particularly shopkeepers
and fintech players, said the contract would deliver incremental revenue of and service providers who often lack
about Rs. 500 crore over the tenure. According to the company, India's ATM assets to pledge or formal credit his-
network faced significant disruptions in 2025, and CMS played a key role in tories. By eliminating collateral re-
stabilising operations during that period. The long-term contract is expected quirements, Axis Finance aims to make
to strengthen CMS's position in the cash-management services segment.
credit more inclusive and enable small

6 | 2026 | FEBRUARY | BANKING FINANCE