Bank of America to buy up to 49.9% in Jio Credit for $1.9 billion

Global financial institution Bank of America Corp (BofA) will acquire up to 49.9% in Jio Credit Ltd, the wholly-owned lending subsidiary of Jio Financial Services Ltd, for $1.9 billion, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

Jio Financial Services is a publicly-listed entity and acts as a holding company, and is the financial services arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-backed conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.

The investment, which values Jio Credit at about $3.8 billion, will be made through a preferential allotment of equity shares and warrants. The transaction will initially give Bank of America a 26.5% equity interest in Jio Credit, which can rise to 49.9% on exercise of the warrants. The investment, including equity shares and warrants if fully subscribed, would be ₹18,268 crore or $1.9 billion.

Jio Credit, a non-bank financier regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had assets under management of ₹30,667 crore, as of 30 June 2026. Its assets under management were at ₹11,665 crore in the year-ago period, showing a massive 163% growth, as per its investor presentation for the June quarter. The lender offers secured credit for individuals as well as enterprises, including retail mortgages and loans against securities (LAS).

“Jio Financial Services is committed to making finance more seamless and simpler for Indians than ever before, leveraging new technology and anchored in the highest standards of governance. Our strategic partnership with Bank of America is a pivotal milestone in this mission,” said Mukesh D. Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.

Ambani said that by combining Jio’s digital reach with Bank of America’s global pedigree, the joint venture will eliminate friction in credit delivery for all Indians.

Following the deal, Jio Credit's board will have equal representation from both partners. Its existing management team will continue to oversee strategy and operations, while Jio Credit will remain consolidated as a subsidiary in Jio Financial Services' financial reporting.

This is Jio Financial’s third global partnership after the one with BlackRock for the mutual funds business and with Allianz for insurance.

Brian Moynihan, chair and chief executive officer of Bank of America, said India is one of the world’s most important growth markets, and that “this investment reflects the bank’s confidence in its future, a market we know well and have supported for decades”.

“We are excited to become a partner with Jio Financial Services, which has achieved remarkable scale in a short period of time, growing to more than $3 billion in assets under management in just two years,” said Moynihan.

India’s non-bank financier segment has been growing at breakneck speed. RBI had said in June that the sector continued to demonstrate resilience, underpinned by strong capitalization, solid net interest margins, sustained profitability, and declining levels of asset impairment.

“While overall credit growth moderated, lending to the retail segment remained robust, driven largely by a sharp expansion in gold loan portfolio, that now forms 17.4% of the NBFCs’ (non-banking financial companies) retail portfolio,” the central bank had said in its Financial Stability Report in June.

Analysts are also bullish on the NBFC sector. Suresh Ganapathy, managing director and head of financial services research at Macquarie Capital, said he expects banks to grow at 18%, so why can’t NBFCs grow at 25%?

“…unsecured loans are back, gold loans and vehicle loans growing at good pace, rural is holding off pretty well… small and medium enterprises (SMEs) also are doing well and the government’s lifeline in terms of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) also doing well and helping the SMEs,” Ganapathy said in an email to clients on 31 July.

Experts said the deal signifies a milestone for credible NBFC sector players with a strong distribution reach and a digital-first organization engine.

“It is also a very effective channel for the foreign players to get exposure in the retail segment of the Indian market, which the foreign players have themselves avoided through their banking franchise,” said Vivek Iyer, partner and national leader financial services - risk advisory at Grant Thornton Bharat.

Iyer said RBI’s approval will define the path for foreign players. “Further, we believe that this arrangement will also bring the much-needed global governance practices into an extremely fast paced NBFC lending space, providing greater systemic stability that the RBI intends to achieve in this segment,” he added.