NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Microfinance lender Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd has raised $270 million of funding, which will facilitate its exit from the corporate debt restructuring cell (CDR) after seven years, it said in a statement on 31 March.

Around $100 million will come in the form of equity capital from a Kedaara Capital-led consortium including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and the rest in the form of debt capital from IndusInd Bank Ltd, Yes Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd, it said.

Spandana is one of five microfinance firms referred to the CDR cell after Andhra Pradesh in 2010 passed a law tightening rules for the industry. The law, passed in response to reports that coercive loan recovery practices were causing suicides among overextended borrowers, triggered a wave of loan defaults in the state, then the biggest market for microlenders.

According to the statement, Spandana has fully repaid its outstanding restructured loans due to all of its lenders.