Indian non-bank lender Shriram Finance has struck a US$500mn agreement with a group of banks and Italy’s export credit agency Sace, backing the purchase of Italian vehicles and equipment.
International banks, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, ING Bank, JP Morgan and KfW Ipex-Bank, are involved in the facility, with Sace providing a guarantee under its untied Push strategy.
The facility comprises €393mn and US$100mn in financing.
HSBC acts as the sole export credit agency (ECA) coordinator and ING Bank as the social loan coordinator for the transaction.
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright was the advisor to the ECA and the syndicate of banks.
Although the facility is untied – meaning it is not linked to a specific export contract unlike more traditional forms of ECA finance – the 10-year agreement will support the purchase of Italian vehicles, both new and used, Shriram says.
Shriram Finance is a retail-focused non-bank financing company that offers a variety of credit solutions, including car and motorbike loans, as well as home, personal and MSME business loans. The firm has a network of 3,196 branches across India.
“This transaction aligns with [Shriram’s] strategic focus on expanding its lender base and accessing diversified pools of capital to support its mission of empowering small business owners and individuals,” the company says.
The deal comes amid booming untied activity in the ECA market, with Sace having been a key driver of this trend, signing transactions with commodities traders, multilateral finance institutions and large corporates. Last month, the agency backed a US$3bn deal for Saudi Arabia’s Neom mega-project.
Sace’s head of India and South Asia Gautam Bhansali says the facility will support Italian companies as well as Shriram’s social strategy.
“Our relationship with Shriram Finance has only strengthened since 2019 when we executed our first Push facility and since then over €100mn-equivalent of Italian products have been supported,” he adds.
The deal is HSBC’s fourth with Sace in the Indian market over the past 12 months, says Ajay Sharma, head of banking at HSBC India.
Norton Rose Fulbright says the loan is its third Push strategy deal signed with an Indian borrower in recent months.
