Chaitanya’s Credit Ratings Upgraded to A- (Stable) Amidst Lockdown

Chaitanya (A Navi group company), has been rated A- (Stable) by CRISIL for the Company’s bank borrowings of up to Rs 500 crore.

This rating has come at a time when the industry is reeling under lockdown, mandated to curb the dangerous COVID-19. The credit rating agencies’ ratings are driven by the strong execution and capital position of Chaitanya.

As per CRISIL, the rating also factors in the long track record of Chaitanya and experience of the promoters in the microfinance business, stable asset quality in microfinance segment post-demonetisation and improving resource profile.

Chaitanya’s ratings have also been upgraded to BBB+ (Stable) /A2+ by ICRA for financial instruments amounting to Rs 358 crore. As per ICRA, the stable outlook factors in the comfortable capital and liquidity profile of the group, which would support its medium-term growth plans.

The association with Navi is expected to result in high degree of operational synergies with improved risk management systems, the rating agencies have noted.

Anand Rao, CEO, Chaitanya, said, “The rating upgrade Chaitanya has got in these challenging times, reflects our strong capital position post becoming part of Navi group. This together with our solid track record and synergies with Navi will help us continue our growth once we move beyond the current COVID situation.”

Sachin Bansal, MD & CEO, Navi, said, “The ratings upgrade is particularly welcome at this time as it recognises the robust fundamentals of the Group. The Group is expected to venture into and, scale-up lending portfolio in new asset classes, including digital lending in the near term.”

Furthermore, the additional funding commitment given by Navi would aid Chaitanya’s growth plans over the medium term.

About Chaitanya: Chaitanya was founded in the year 2009 with an amicable goal of helping the many low income families who have been traditionally away from the formal banking sector. Chaitanya’s product portfolio included two wheeler loans, and housing loans apart from microfinance. Today Chaitanya operates in 5 states (Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand) with over 230 branches serving over 4.6 Lakh clients.

About Navi: Navi (erstwhile known as BACQ) is founded in 2018 with the aim of making the financial services simple, affordable and accessible and to build consumer-centric and technology-driven businesses in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance) space.