New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday announced an expanded partnership, including a USD 150 million social loan to improve access to finance for around 8.64 lakh rural women engaged in agriculture and allied activities.
The partnership also marks the execution of the first cross-currency swap under a recently signed ISDA Master Agreement, making SBI IFC's first domestic swap counterparty in India and its first local swap counterparty in South Asia.
Under the social loan, up to 90 per cent of the financing will support women borrowers through Self-Help Groups (SHGs), while the remaining amount will fund women entrepreneurs graduating to individual Micro Enterprise Loans under SBI's Svayam Siddha Scheme, a joint statement said.
The financing will cover women engaged in crop cultivation, animal husbandry, fisheries and food processing, helping strengthen livelihoods and generate employment in rural areas.
The loan marks IFC's first line of credit to a public sector bank in India and its first investment in a state-owned bank in the country.
The currency swap partnership will enable IFC to mobilise long-term rupee funding for private sector investments while helping mitigate foreign exchange risks for borrowers, particularly in sectors such as infrastructure, agribusiness and financial services.
IFC said it had funded Rs 300.4 billion (approximately USD 3.7 billion) through the US dollar-Indian rupee cross-currency swap market over the past three years, and the partnership with SBI would further strengthen long-term local currency financing.
The swap line marks a key step in deepening IFC's local currency financing ecosystem in India and will help source long-term Indian rupee funding for private sector investments. This structure helps mitigate foreign exchange risk for borrowers, especially in high-impact sectors such as infrastructure, agribusiness and financial services, enabling greater investment certainty.
Roshika Singh, Principal Country Officer, IFC, said, “SBI is a strong partner for IFC…one of our first investments in a state-owned institution here, and also our first domestic swap counterparty. SBI can extend capital to places we can't reach alone – from rural Self-Help Groups to the rupee markets that finance private sector growth.”
SBI Deputy Managing Director Satyendra Kumar Singh said the collaboration would expand financial access for women-led SHGs and rural entrepreneurs and contribute to the Viksit Bharat 2047 mission.
“Equally significant is our collaboration on the local currency swap, which strengthens India's domestic financial markets and enhances the availability of long-term rupee financing for private sector investments,” he said.
The initiative also aligns with the World Bank Group's AgriConnect programme, which seeks to expand access to finance for women participating in agricultural value chains.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)