Equitas securitisation deal with ICICI Prudential MF

CHENNAI: ICICI Prudential Mutual fund has invested Rs 48.12 crore in the Chennai-based Equitas Micro Finance through a securitisation deal with the MFI.

IFMR Capital was the sold structurer and arranger for this transaction which has allowed Equitas to access funding at a rate significantly lower than its average cost of funds.

Equitas COO, S Bhaskar said this is the first ever micro finance securtisation programme to reach capital market investor. ICICI Prudential MF deputy MD, Nilesh Shah said it has invested in the A1 tranche based on its analysis of risk and reward.

"We believe the issue is fairly priced, provides adequate security and is highly rated".

Crisil has assigned its ratings of ‘P1+(SO)\AA(SO)\BBB(SO)’ to the pass through certificates of IFMR Trust Pioneer-11 amounting to Rs 48.12 crore. These PTCs with a tenure of 12 to 19 months, are backed by micro finance loan receivables originated by Equitas.