DBS Bank Ltd. has led a syndicated External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) loan for HDFC Credila Financial Services Limited (HDFC Credila) through the DBS IFSC banking unit in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). HDFC Credila is an erstwhile subsidiary of HDFC Limited (now HDFC Bank) that focuses on the education loans business. As the sole mandated lead arranger and book-runner, DBS Bank completed a USD 100 million transaction, which will support HDFC Credila’s growing retail education loan franchise.
HDFC Credila is the country’s first and largest dedicated education finance company which has assisted over 168,000 Indian students to date. With an expansive portfolio covering 4,500 universities in 61 countries, HDFC Credila has focused on supporting students aspiring to pursue their education in India as well as in countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. The loan will be utilised by HDFC Credila to diversify its funding resources and reinforce its prominent position in the education finance sector. DBS Bank acted as the exclusive structurer and arranger of the transaction, leading the end-to-end market scoping, credit analysis, due diligence, transaction structuring and execution as a part of the deal process.
Rajat Verma, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking Group at DBS Bank India said, “With the demand for education loans gathering pace, HDFC Credila is poised to play an important role in nurturing the country’s talent by enabling access to learning for India’s students. In line with our focus on responsible banking, DBS is proud to support HDFC Credila, the country’s leading education loan company as they empower youth to be future ready.”
Arijit Sanyal, Managing Director & CEO of HDFC Credila, commented on the partnership, “HDFC Credila looks to borrow funds from diversified sources at competitive rates, which, in turn, allows us to continue offering competitive education finance products to aspiring students. We are pleased to have concluded a USD 100 million ECB transaction with DBS Bank as the lead arranger and appreciate the strong support demonstrated by DBS. The successful completion of this ECB loan is a testament to the trusted relationship between HDFC Credila and DBS Bank. As market leaders in the education finance domain, these funds will help us support growth and thereby strengthen our position.”
In March 2024, HDFC Bank completed the sale of its stake in HDFC Credila to private equity firms BPEA EQT and ChrysCapital. This was an outcome of the regulatory requirements that were mandated prior to the merger of the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with HDFC Bank in June 2023.
DBS has been named ‘Safest Bank in Asia’ by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years since 2009. In 2023, the bank announced the launch of its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City Gandhinagar. As a different kind of bank, DBS goes beyond traditional banking to enable responsible solutions for enterprises, empowering them to streamline operations for enhanced efficiency. DBS combines a strong global lineage with deep understanding of the Indian market to offer a full range of institutional banking, SME and retail banking services.
