Kotak Mahindra Bank gains as arm acquires passenger vehicle financing portfolio of Ford Credit

NEW DELHI - Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank rose nearly 1.5 percent in early trade on Thursday as a subsidiary of the private lender said it has purchased the passenger vehicle finance portfolio of Ford Motor Company’s captive lending platform.

In a statement on Wednesday, the bank said that Kotak Mahindra Prime has acquired Ford Credit India's Rs 425 crore loan portfolio spread across 16,000 customers for an undisclosed sum.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s scrip rose to a high of Rs 1,788 from the previous close of Rs 1,763.10 on BSE.

The deal comes three months after Kotak Mahindra Group’s acquisition Volkswagen Finance's vehicle finance loan portfolio that includes passenger cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, PTI reported.

The reports quoted Kotak Mahindra Prime’s managing director Vyomesh Kapasi saying that the deal should be seen as an illustration of the company's aim to grow its vehicle financing business and have a strong presence in this space.

Ford Credit has been in business since 2015 and its customers will transition to Kotak Prime in a planned basis over the next few months when Ford Motor Company exits India, according to the statement.

In the July-September period, Kotak Mahindra Bank announced a 7 percent year-on-year fall in independent net profit at Rs 2,032 crore compared to Rs 2,184 crore posted in the corresponding quarter last year. Sequentially, the figure grew 24 percent above Rs 1,642 crore in the June 2021 quarter.

The bank's net interest income (NII) increased 3 percent year-on-year in the July-September to Rs 4,021 crore from Rs 3,897 crore in the same quarter last year. Net interest margin (NIM) for the quarter came in at 4.45 percent.

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