‘Foraying into retail ARC’

Chennai : With the market getting crowded with wholesale asset reconstruction companies or ARCs, financial services conglomerate Shriram Group’s decision to focus on retail ARC is seen as a foray at the “right time,” said a top official.

The Shriram group recently announced its entry into retail asset restructuring (ARC) and also into digital wealth management service businesses. “My personal view is that retail ARC is a good business to get into at this point which Umesh (Revankar) has been reiterating that in retail ARC there is nobody in this sector,” Shriram General Insurance’s Vice-Chairman Jasmit Singh Gujral said recently. He is also part of the four-member board of management (BOM) of Shriram Ownership Trust, which oversees the activities of the group. The other three being DV Ravi, VC & MD of Shriram Capital, Umesh Revankar, Executive VC of Shriram Finance and R Duruvasan, director at Shriram Life. Elaborating, Gujral said there is a synergy across businesses of the Shriram Group, and whether life or general insurance in the last 15-18 years of time, both have been making money every year.

Asked whether too many products were on his plate, Gujral denied saying, “No. it is not really. Let me put this way for you, minus a bank, what is missing? When you go to a bank, you can get gold loans, business loans, and housing loans. “If you have acquired a customer, you might need a loan product at some stage of time or maybe your son wants an education loan or a personal loan.