Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) will provide $75 million in financing to Yes Bank and up to $75 million as a syndicated financing from Wells Fargo Bank.
This is the third transaction between OPIC and Yes Bank and comes close on the heels of 2016’s USD 265 million OPIC facility, which the bank will use to extend SME financing in India, Yes Bank said in regulatory filing.
“Specifically, USD 50 million of the financing would be used to expand support to women-owned businesses, while another USD 50 million will be used for financing small and medium enterprises (SME) in low income states,” it said.
The funding comes as a part of arrangement between the OPIC which include US government development finance institution and Wells Fargo, with the objective to increase lending to small and medium enterprises in India.
“OPIC’s facility will help Yes Bank expand its SME lending capacity, specifically enabling them to reach both women and entrepreneurs in low income states who have much to contribute to India’s economic growth,” Dev Jagadesan, OPIC acting president and chief executive officer said.
Wells Fargo is a provider of banking, mortgage, investing, credit card, insurance, and consumer and commercial financial services.
42 million people in the country have benefited from SMEs that contribute about 42 per cent of industrial output. It is estimated that 3 million women owned businesses in India employ over 8 million people.