Credila started operations in March 2008, two months after DSP Merrill
Lynch invested in the company. From March 2008 until HDFC bought out DSP
Merrill, Credila had disbursed only Rs 20 crore. Since then it has
sanctioned more than Rs 2,000 crore and disbursed nearly half that
amount. The big surprise was in 2012 when Credila received more than
90,000 online applications for a cumulative loan amount of over Rs 8,000
crore. “It was more than we could handle,” says Anil Bohora, Chief
Operating Officer at Credila. The company looks at applicants’ credit
worthiness, the repaying capacity of parents, collateral, and the
institute they are applying to while scrutinising loan applications.…In some ways, Credila mirrors HDFC’s own journey. HDFC was founded
by Deepak Parekh’s uncle, H.T. Parekh, in 1977. It had the first-mover
advantage as there was no other mortgage lender in the private sector at
the time. But this was also a disadvantage because, unlike state-run
banks, it had no access to low-cost public deposits. What helped HDFC
survive and expand was simplicity of products and a focus on customer
service. Karnad sees these attributes in Credila too.…The Bohora brothers, who in 2003 sold their healthcare claims processing
venture ClaimsBPO to WNS Global, have ambitious plans for Credila. They
want to create India’s first dedicated education loan company on the
lines of Sallie Mae, the largest provider of study loans in the United
States. It is not surprising they are taking inspiration from a US
company. Both previously worked for US companies – Ajay with insurer
MetLife and Anil with media company AOL Time Warner.…it disbursed more than Rs 1,000 crore from only eight
branches in a handful of cities, whereas state-run banks have hundreds
of branches across the country. Although the brothers, who own
nearly 11 per cent of Credila, are serial entrepreneurs, they are
content working for HDFC.
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