Bank of India inks co-lending deal with MAS Financial Services

MUMBAI: State-owned Bank of India on Tuesday said it has entered into a co-lending arrangement for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) loans with an Ahmedabad-based non-bank financier MAS Financial Services Ltd.

Atanu Kumar Das, chief executive of the bank, said co-lending was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase credit flow to unserved and the underserved sector by utilising nimble-footed NBFC coverage of informal sector.

“The bank will leverage reach of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to build the MSME portfolio,” said Das.

The lender also celebrated its 116th foundation day across all its 10 national banking group (NBG) offices, 59 zonal offices, 5,084 domestic and 23 overseas branches, and 5,323 ATMs.

A statement said Das expressed his gratitude to all the customers, stakeholders and well-wishers for reposing their trust in the bank and supporting it at every step of the journey.

“Bank of India undertook several initiatives, such as tree plantation, extending financial help to 8,718 girl children towards their education and customer outreach programmes. The bank also carried out other corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities that included providing smart sticks to members of associations for the visually impaired, and financial assistance to the poor and needy for availing free medical checkups at KEM Hospital in Mumbai,” it said.

In addition, the bank unveiled various new schemes for farmers. These included opening of 84 Star Krishi Vikas Kendra for quick processing of Kisan Loans; Krishi Ghar Special Scheme for construction of farmhouses; a unique scheme, Star Kisan Sahayata Loan, to mitigate covid-19 stress; and a scheme for farm mechanization.