Federal Bank to join hands with fintech cos

Kolkata:Kerala based private lender Federal Bank will collaborate with the fintech companies as part of its growth strategy, an official said on Thursday.

MD&CEO of Federal Bank Shyam Srinivasan said that collaboration with the fintech companies will have greater reach to customers and the lender will surely leverage this aspect.

"Partnership with fintech companies will give us reach to customers. We would collaborate with these firms rather than compete. It is an integral part of the bank's strategy," he said.

Srinivasan told reporters here that fintechs bring great value to the bank.

"Fintech companies are mostly used for client acquisition for opening savings accounts. The bank generally opens around 15,000 savings accounts per day and 60 per cent of them are through fintechs. These are all digital accounts," he said.

Loan exposure through the fintech firms is mostly through credit cards, Srinivasan added.

He said the bank would like to grow organically, maintaining a balance between secured and unsecured portfolios.

"Three per cent of our portfolio is unsecured through credit cards, personal loans and loans to MFIs. Our strategy is also to diversify across products, categories and geographies," he said.

According to him, the bank is growing at 18 per cent with total business at the end of September 2023 touching Rs 4.26 lakh crore.

"The bank will not drop credit standards and there are enough growth opportunities in the market. The bank is well capitalised and there is no requirement of capital in the near term", Srinivasan said.

Srinivas said the aim is to be among the top five private lenders in the country in the coming years.

He said there is also a focus on 'green banking', which is exposure to projects using renewable energy.

The bank also plans to expand its physical presence across the country by opening more branches.

"We have 1408 branches now pan India. Plans are there to open 250 more from January 2024 till the middle of 2025," he added.

Expansion will also be made to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, he said.

Nearly 100 to 150 branches are opened every year, he said.