Shriram Transport Finance Company, the largest financier of commercial vehicles, and Shriram City Union Finance, the largest two-wheeler financer and leader in micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) lending, have been merged to form Shriram Finance Limited (Shriram Finance). Shriram Finance will be a diversified player with a robust net worth of Rs 40,900 Crs and Assets under Management (AUM) of Rs 1,71,000 Crs, the Company caters to over 6.7 million customers across India. The growth strategy for the Company will be focused on driving the self-employed and the MSME economy.
Mr Umesh Revankar, a long-serving Shriram veteran, will serve as Executive Vice Chairman of the merged entity.Commenting on the merger he said, “It is the natural culmination of a journey of 43 years. With the balance sheet strengthened through the merger, we can serve the needs of the market better than ever before. As a customer-focused company, we can bring more products and assist them with access to credit faster. We have invested heavily in technology to improve efficiency and customer service levels. We are looking forward to an exciting phase of sustained double-digit growth.”
Mr YS Chakravarti, MD & CEO, Shriram Financecommented, “The timing of the merger is brilliant. As India is growing, we are seeing robust demand for credit among MSMEs. We are always close to the market with our 3600+ locations. All our business segments– financing commercial vehicles, MSMEs, Personal Loans, Gold Loans, or Vehicle Loans – are poised to grow.”
Shriram Finance further announced the appointment of Mr Jugal Kishor Mohapatra as Chairman of the Company and Mrs Maya Sinha as an Independent Director.
The company also announced its growth strategy – Driving the Self-employed and Small Business Economy and has chalked out five strategic pillars to drive future growth:
1. To be the country’s most preferred financial services destination
2. Focus on self-employed, small businesses and new-to-creditcustomers
3. Diversified product portfolio across credit, insurance and investing to capture a larger wallet share
4. Generate an industry-leading Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) in the long term
5. Delivering customer delight in rural and semi-urban areas by leveraging technology and through empowered employees
Founded in 1979 by the legendary Shri R Thyagarajan, Shriram always worked with a social consciousness that business must first and foremost serve the people. It is particularly proud of the fact that it has brought credit to millions of people who were otherwise denied access. The contrarian view has helped build one of India’s foremost financial institutions. Shriram Finances’ 57,000-plus employees will attest to this.