'Axis Bank's MSME credit could rise by Rs 10,000 cr under ECLGS 5.0'

Mumbai: Axis Bank expects credit expansion of more than ₹10,000 crore through MSME lending under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0, even as it remains on course to 500-plus branch additions in FY27, said a top executive at the private-sector lender.

"The opportunity is about ₹10,000 crore - that is the eligible amount across the companies," said Prashanth T S, group head, mid-corporate and medium enterprises group, Axis Bank. "If you look at the opportunity size, we have a pool of ₹3 lakh crore and roughly 50-60% of that comes from pure working capital requirements. There is a decent flow of requests coming through MSME customers and we have already started processing some of these."

Brick-and-mortar touchpoints are considered crucial to expanding loans to MSMEs, many of which are in areas that remain under-served by private banks. Axis added approximately 400 branches through FY25 and FY26.


Axis Bank's MSME portfolio - currently at ₹3 lakh crore - has been expanding at a compounded annual growth rate of 24%, with the bank holding an overall market share of more than 8% in the segment, rising to more than 9% on an incremental basis.