Kotak Mahindra Bank acquires business loans portfolio of Barclays India

Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (KMBL) today announced the acquisition of the business loans portfolio of Barclays Bank in India and Barclays Investment and Loan (India) Ltd.

The acquisition will give Kotak Mahindra Bank access to approximately 6,000 business loan customers, with total outstanding loans of about Rs700 crore, the bank said.

''The acquisition is in line with KMBL's strategy to add value to its existing business lines as it strengthens its business loans portfolio,'' the bank said in a statement.

''The strategic intent behind this acquisition is to further grow our business loans portfolio for chosen client segments. Business loans are an important element in our segmented offering.

This acquisition also gives us a very good set of customers who can be offered our entire suite of banking products. We have an appetite for further acquisitions, which can strategically create value for us and will actively seek such opportunities,'' Paul Parambi, head - group strategy, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said.

All these acquired loans are classified as standard loans as per current RBI guidelines, the bank said.