Now, BMB extending loans to women setting up Lakme salons

Women-focussed Bharatiya Mahila Bank said that it will finance women intending to set up salons under the Lakme Brand. The public sector bank and Lakme Lever Pvt. Ltd, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard on Tuesday.

Under the MoU, the bank will extend loans to women for up to 70 per cent of the total amount required for opening a salon. The balance will be paid by Lakme.

“This is to ensure that the brand (Lakme) will also have some skin in the game,” said Usha Ananthasubramanian, Chairperson and Managing Director, Bharatiya Mahila Bank.

The latest MoU would be the bank’s third foray into this space, after it financed some 30 salons of Naturals and CavinKare across the country.

“The idea is to provide initial loan and financial support for women entrepreneurs, as they do not have access to it because men hold most of the property,” the chairperson of the 13-month-old bank said, adding that the bank wants to work with women, basically on their strength.

Ananthasubramanian said that the bank is also looking to provide micro-education loans to women who pursue short-term vocational courses that provide assured placements. “Most women want to pursue these courses after 12{+t}{+h} grade, but they do not have access to finance,” she added.

The bank has a loan book of ₹400 crore and a deposit base of about ₹600 crore.

Outlining the main challenge for the bank, Ananthasubramanian said that her bank has a very lean network of 40 branches. The bank, she said, is trying to overcome it by using more technology such as Internet and soon-to-be-introduced mobile banking.

Our Mangaluru correspondent reports : SM Swathi, Executive Director of the bank, who was in Mangaluru for the inauguration of the 40{+t}{+h} branch of the bank, said that women-centric products are getting good feedback from customers.

Highlighting some of the products, she said ‘BMB Annapurna’ is for women who prepare breakfast, lunch or dinner and serve them in the neighbourhood or in offices, and ‘BMB Parvarish’ extends finance to those who set up child day-care centres.

Stating that the bank does not insist on security for these women-centric schemes, she said the beneficiaries go for loans below ₹1 crore under these schemes. Asked about the total disbursements under these women-centric schemes, she said it could be around ₹50 crore.

The bank has a staff strength of 300, and another 500 people will be hired in the next four months, she said.

The bank is likely to open 40 more branches during the current financial year. Of these, 20 will be in rural areas and the rest in tier-2 and tier-3 centres.