The Gold Loan NBFC In 2021, the loan asset portfolio of Muthoot Finance exceeded INR 526.00 billion.

By Sujata Sangwan

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George Alexander Muthoot, MD of Muthoot Finance

Things were quite different when George Alexander Muthoot took up the role of the MD of Muthoot Finance in 1993. Gold loans were not a common form of financing back then. Even though there was a large demand for loans in the market, customers were not well aware of this option. Given that rural areas made up a larger portion of India's population, ones without white-collar occupations or bank accounts had to struggle to obtain loans. Slowly, gold loans started becoming more acceptable because they offered financing quickly and with lower risks.

"Since we rose from such a small town, we were able to have more vision and a deeper understanding on the growth of our rural community. This has given us the vision or a benchmark model to curate a growth plan for the entire nation. The rest is history," according to Muthoot, who is a Chartered Accountant by qualification.

Talking about hurdles and challenges, Muthoot says, "It was to place ourselves strategically to tap into this market, and deliver the quality, the transparency and trust in the business. We have successfully done this over the years, which has made Muthoot a popular household brand in the country, today. Now it has been 3 decades of financial operations under The Muthoot Group."

In 2021, the loan asset portfolio of Muthoot Finance exceeded INR 526.00 billion.

The Muthoot Finance MD praises the business' outstanding growth trajectory. "In 2007, there were 500 branches in our network. After becoming a public limited company in 2008, we were able to reach 1600 branch milestones by 2010 and 2700 branches by 2011. We currently operate 5750+ branches across India. Further, RBI has also classified us as an upper layer NBFC on par with public sector NBFCs and we are one among the only 16 financial firms in India as well."

Muthoot asserts that the company has experienced a considerable digital transition by adopting online services, digital payments, and techdriven platforms. With over 1 million downloads and 30,000 average monthly transactions, the iMuthoot App facilitates gold loan transactions. It now collects INR 20 crore every day and has moved 40% of gold loan transactions online. Additionally, the business launched the Gold Loan at Home service, which benefited diverse consumer demographics. To ensure efficiency in HR operations, Muthoot also provides integrated bill payment platforms similar to BBPS and makes use of an HRMS for streamlined HR activities like data management, attendance monitoring, leave management, performance appraisal, and payroll.

Facts:

>> Year of inception of the company: 1939 (1887 - The Muthoot Group)

>> No. of Employees: 30,000

>> Head Office Location: Kochi

>> Turnover for FY 2022-23: INR 2864 Cr

Sujata Sangwan

Former Sr. Correspondent

Sujata is an engineering graduate and has done her Post Graduation in Human Resource Management. She has a deep interest in startups, venture capitalists & technology. 
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