YES BANK launches Smart Edge surrogate lending program for MSMEs

YES BANK, India’s fourth-largest private sector Bank, announced the launch of its lending program, Smart Edge for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Through this first-of-its-kind, industry-first program, an MSME can avail secured working capital limits from Rs 1 to 3 crore in form of Overdraft (OD), Letter of Credit (LC) and Financial Bank Guarantees.

Smart Edge, a YES GST initiative is a first of its kind surrogate lending model wherein no financial statements will be required and credit appraisal will be done basis data-points pulled from GST returns and operative Bank accounts of the MSME. A scorecard running in the background will analyze credit indicators from both the sources individually and will factor in the interplay between the two as well. Basis the score generated, the collateral cover requirement will be ascertained which will start from 85%.

Commenting on the launch, Rajan Pental, senior group president and Head, Branch and Retail Banking, YES BANK, said, “Understanding the significant role of MSMEs in the growth and development of the country, YES BANK has been at the fore front of providing financial solutions to the MSME sector. We are committed to harnessing the power of data and technology to create easy access to finance for the MSMEs and the Smart Edge program will enable simple and faster processing of credit for our customers.”

MSMEs can apply through any of the Bank’s branches, following which a YES BANK representative will get in touch with the applicant. In terms of essential documentation, MSMEs need to submit GST returns, operative bank account statements for last 12 months for assessment along with hygiene documents such as KYC in order to avail this facility. Collateral acceptable to the Bank will be taken as security for the loan.

YES BANK had launched ‘YES GST program’ in 2018 to help MSMEs understand the impact of the changes and prepare them for migration to the new GST system.

YES BANK in line with its Responsible Banking ethos is committed to supporting the MSME sector and giving it the much needed thrust to put it on a sustainable growth path. Early this year in January, the Bank had also conducted an in-depth five months survey covering over 2,700 MSMEs across 20 industries from all over the country, to analyse the impact of digitization on Indian MSMEs.

The study, titled Impact of Digitization on MSMEs – the first large survey of its kind, identified key drivers for digital adoption by MSMEs, as well as barriers and recommended measures for greater adoption of digital technology.