Jio Finance closing in on home loans launch expands financial offerings

Homeloans: Jio Finance Ltd, the NBFC arm of Jio Financial Services, on Friday, said it was in the final stages of launching home loans, which have already been rolled out in Beta mode. This becomes very important in expanding the already broad portfolio of financial product offerings of the company.

The Managing Director and CEO of the company, Hitesh Sethia, told the shareholders in the first annual general meeting post-listing that Jio Finance is also getting ready to launch a slew of other products, including loans against property and loans on securities. "We are in the advanced stages of launching home loans, which have been rolled out in Beta mode, and other products such as loans against property and loans on securities are in the pipeline," Sethia said.

Jio Finance Ltd has already launched a raft of secured lending products such as supply chain financing, loans on mutual funds, and enterprise solutions for device financing. The company is also well-positioned to leverage the joint venture with BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, for offering world-class investment products to Indian consumers. The first among them, which was announced in July 2023, aimed at an asset management firm, was followed by another in April 2024 to develop wealth management and broking facilities.

Sethia said that the key leadership positions have been filled and work on the technological infrastructure and go-to-market strategy is moving in fast motion. He added that this proposed joint venture with Principal Global Investors indicates that both partners are showing confidence in the Indian market, at a time when the financialization of household savings in India is gaining momentum.

Along with this and the lending and investment products, Jio Financial Services has taken considerable strides in the insurance business through the JIBL. The insurance broking business has already tied up with 31 leading private and public sector insurance companies, offering comprehensive insurance products to customers, including those of life, health, motor, two-wheeler, fire, and property.

Sethia further stressed the performance of Jio Payments Bank, which has crossed the big number of 1 million customers in CASA and provides digital banking solutions for retail and small business customers. The tech stack of the payments bank has been completely changed. As a result, account opening for a savings bank account is done in less than five minutes, using a completely digital process.

The recently launched JioFinance app in Beta mode reportedly crossed 1 million downloads on May 30, 2024. The app offers loans against mutual funds, savings accounts, UPI, bill payments, digital insurance, and recharges.

Jio Financial Services, hived off as a core investment company from RIL, undertakes businesses in the field of investment, financing, insurance broking, and payment services encompassing payment banking, payment aggregation, and payment gateway services.