Q1. Could you start by giving us a brief overview of your professional background, particularly focusing on your expertise in the industry?

I am a professionally qualified company secretary and have over 20 years of working experience in BFSI in various roles - policy, risk, underwriting, product development, and portfolio management.

Q2. Which lending products do you believe are entering their strongest growth phase, and what factors are driving that momentum?

India, as a country, is well-placed compared with other developing economies worldwide. There is significant potential for deeper penetration of secured and unsecured loans in the market.

Q3. How is the unsecured lending market evolving as lenders gain access to richer data and more sophisticated underwriting tools?

Technological advancements and the availability of alternative data have made processing faster and simpler, enabling the handling of larger numbers of loan applications with speed and accuracy. This has enabled companies to reduce time and costs for scaling the business, as well as to handle market dynamics more flexibly.

Q4. How are market dynamics changing within LAP and affordable LAP segments, and what opportunities are emerging for lenders?

India has a well-diversified geography, and there is ample opportunity to establish a credit footprint in tier-3/4 markets to advance financial inclusion and tap credit growth.
People's mindsets are changing, and they are becoming credit-savvy to grow their businesses and improve their standard of living.

Q5. How is AI transforming credit assessment, fraud detection, and portfolio monitoring across the lending ecosystem?

AI is helping with faster, more accurate data processing for larger applications in one go, which reduces processing time and cost. It also eliminates human judgment bias and helps underwriters to make more informed decisions. Fraud indicators are more accurate and provide information to prevent fabricated data or documentation from passing through the system.

Q6. What impact do you expect tighter governance and risk management standards to have on competitive dynamics within the lending sector?

Governance and risk management standards are evolving daily, with change accelerating in the industry's tech environment. Till now, it has helped in improving asset quality across banks and FI in India.

Q7. If you were an investor looking at companies within the space, what critical question would you pose to their senior management?

As an investor, I would be interested in a profitable and scalable business. These can be achieved by reducing credit costs and increasing return on equity by balancing risk across different sets of customer profiles without compromising regulatory compliance.