Srei is in discussions with banks over joint lending and hopes to offer such loans soon. The initiative, which involves the sharing of risks between banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), is expected to boost credit offtake.

The move comes in the wake of the RBI coming up with guidelines for the co-origination of loans between banks and NBFCs in September. The process of joint lending could start early next year.

“After the guidelines came up, people have started making policies. It takes time to create the product, take it to the board for approval. We are planning big on this. We have already built the technology and we are in discussions with lenders. We hope in the short-run we should be able to start that,” said Sunil Kanoria, vice-chairman of Srei.

According to the guidelines, a minimum 20 per cent of the credit risk by way of direct exposure shall be on the NBFC’s books till maturity and the balance 80 per cent will be on the bank’s books. Based on the respective interest rate and proportion of risk sharing, a single blended interest rate should be offered to the borrower in the case of a fixed rate. In the case of a floating interest rate, the weighted average of benchmark interest rates in proportion of the respective loan contribution should be taken into account.

“I have to provide 20 per cent of the loan amount and 80 per cent will be from the partner bank. So, my requirement of funds reduces to 20 per cent,” Kanoria said.

He added that over the next six months, the growth of the NBFC sector is expected to remain subdued amid liquidity challenges. Co-lending, securitisation and sale of portfolio are among the few initiatives that NBFCs will have to explore to sustain growth.