How an NBFC attracts ace bankers

MUMBAI: Former Deutsche Bank Asia-Pacific CEO Gunit Chadha-owned APAC Financial has roped in a bunch of ace bankers, including former HDFC Bank deputy managing Paresh Sukthankar and ANZ's Sanjeev Bajaj, as equity investors in what appears to be a seal of approval that non-banking finance company as a business model is not dead yet.

The problems appear to be revolving around individual firms and their financial engineering.

APAC CEO Chadha confirmed that his firm had raised fresh equity from some individuals but declined to give details. Emails sent to Sukthankar and Bajaj remained unanswered till the time of going to press.

"We have raised fresh equity. This is the second round of funding which will give us a good base. We are very well equitised now with very little leverage. We will now leverage this equity," said Chadha, declining to disclose the investment quantum.

The investment may be in the range of about Rs 40-60 crore, said two people familiar with the matter. ET could not independent ascertain the final figure.

The Mumbai-based new age firm looks to become a full-service provider to the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) by combining the Physical and Digital Platforms.

Besides, SBI Varsha Purandare - ex chief Credit & Risk Officer at State Bank of India - has joined the non-banking finance company as senior advisor to the company and independent member of APAC Credit Committee. She was also the managing director and CEO of SBI Capital Markets.

Incorporated in mid-2018, APAC is currently building a granular portfolio across low-cost income housing loans, micro enterprises loans and small & medium enterprise loans. It recently raised a significant minority stake from Multiples Private Equity to the tune of around Rs 245 crore.