Bajaj Finance witnesses growth in professional loan segment

Bajaj Finance Ltd, one of the fastest growing financial services company in India reported a 55 percent robust growth in its doctor loans segment. Part of its professional loans portfolio, the segment saw a significant jump to Rs. 148 crore in March 2017, from Rs. 95 crore in September 2016.

Its online disbursal, which accounts for 25 percent of the total disbursement, doubled to Rs. 16.47 crore from Rs. 8.65 crore in the same six-month period.

In India, the doctor loans segment is valued at Rs. 500 crore of monthly disbursals, of which Bajaj Finance Ltd enjoys an impressive 35 percent market share. The company, which is the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv Ltd, is now targeting growth by 70 percent in the doctor loans segment in FY17-18.

Bajaj Finance Ltd's professional loan segment registered a growth of 56 percent in FY17 over the previous year, having disbursed Rs. 424 crore in Q4 of FY17. The company also increased its geographic spread in the segment from 115 to 140 locations. The overall professional loans segment comprises of doctors, chartered accountants and engineers, and is valued at Rs. 750 crore.

Under doctor loans, the largest sub-segment consists of doctors who have completed their post-graduation and account for 33 percent of the total loans disbursed to the larger category of doctors. The next largest sub-segment is of MBBS doctors, accounting for a little over 37 percent, followed by dentists with a 17 percent share.

The data also highlights that in terms of experience, doctors with 10-15 years of practise have 23 percent share that constitutes the largest chunk of the whole doctor loans segment, followed by doctors with over 20 years of experience. The factor that makes this product a unique proposition is the 'Line of Credit' offered exclusively by Bajaj Finance Ltd, which is an industry first offering, tailored for professionals. This empowers the doctors availing the loan to manage their cash flows smartly and more efficiently. The product is designed with the thought that loans to doctors are better left flexible, considering the dynamic and variable funding requirements they have.

The 'Line of Credit' ensures that doctors get a dedicated credit line for a particular duration. Throughout this duration, the doctors only repay the interest component of the amount used. The monthly EMI for Line of Credit will only contain the interest amount. The principal amount of the loan has to be paid only when this fixed tenure ends.

There will be no principal component on a monthly basis. Bajaj Finance has a holistic product proposition for the doctor community, ranging from unsecured loans (of up to Rs. 30 lakh) to secured loans up to Rs. 3 crore.

Doctors can avail loans up to Rs. 30 lakh, which is the highest loan amount offered by any online provider in the country. Additionally, they need not provide any guarantors or collaterals to avail this loan. They also get a choice of flexible repayment tenors - ranging from 12 months to 60 months. The average ticket size for doctor loans is Rs. 10 lakh.

-ANI