The India EXIM Bank’s Managing Director, Harsha Bangari, recently said that the export financier’s collaboration with Public Sector Banks and Overseas Banks is essential to enable better access to finance and mitigate the complexities small exporters face when dealing with international markets.
Indian banks, especially PSBs, are so entrenched in tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4 cities. The ultimate connection for an exporter or a small company, especially when looking at overseas business, starts with them.Harsha Bangari, MD, India EXIM Bank
Bangari further discussed the significance of fostering partnerships with overseas banks to ensure seamless trade financing.”For EXIM Bank, it is very important to collaborate with the banking system, both in India and overseas. Without that, we won’t be able to sustain corporate operations,” she added.
Bagri also spoke on the evolving nature of corporate financing, stating, “Increasingly, when we talk about growth and most of our corporates have at least successfully de-leveraged, there’s also a thought process where we should not really encourage Indian companies to borrow more. Even if they do, we are increasingly using financing instruments that do not involve directly lending money to the company but instead provide finance in ways that support their buyers or other aspects of their operations.”
Established in 1982, the Export-Import Bank of India (India EXIM Bank) is the export financing institution in the country, wholly owned by the Government of India. Its mandate is to facilitate and promote India’s international trade by providing financial assistance to exporters and importers and supporting Indian companies in global markets.
We all have strong correspondent banking networks and have gained valuable experience in leveraging them effectively, particularly with an understanding of how local banks and the ones in Africa behave.Harsha Bangari, MD, India EXIM Bank
Speaking on post-pandemic trade behavior, Bangari remarked, “One behavioral characteristic we saw was that most of our companies started looking inwards.” However, she stressed the need for Indian companies to expand their horizons and explore newer markets.”We need to bring in innovative solutions to take on some of the risks, crowding in investments alongside collaborations with overseas banks,” she said.
Harsha Bangari, Managing Director of India EXIM Bank was speaking at the FIBAC Conference held in Mumbai.
