Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) is acquiring the personal loan (PL) book of Standard Chartered Bank, India, which has a total loan outstanding of around ₹4,100 crore.

For Kotak Bank, the transaction is expected to strengthen its position in the retail credit market. Standard Chartered Bank said the sale will enable it to focus more on wealth and investment banking business in India.

Last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had tightened norms relating to unsecured loans such as personal loans and credit card outstandings by increasing the risk weightage. This has led to moderation in the growth of such lending.

The deal is expected to be completed over the next three months and is subject to regulatory and other approvals and the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a regulatory filing.

It added the proposed transaction consists of loans classified as “standard loans” (or loans that are performing and not NPAs) according to the RBI guidelines.

KMBL said it will acquire the loan book, which will be outstanding closer to the completion date.

“This acquisition aligns with KMBL’s strategy to transform for scale and focus on customer-centric growth,” the lender said.