A Summer Project Report on

Comparison of Channel Finance facility offered by Aditya Birla Finance with different Financial Institutions
Submitted to

By Ravish Tandon PGDM (Finance and Operations) 2009-11 From Birla Institute of Management Technology Greater Noida

Acknowledgment At the outset, it is my duty to acknowledge with gratitude the generous help that we have received from Aditya Birla Finance for giving me the opportunity to work in their premises over a period of eight weeks. I take this opportunity to thank, Mr Mohit Mathur, Manager- Corporate Finance, Aditya Birla Finance Ltd (ABFL) for giving me an opportunity to learn about the Channel finance and Factoring industry and to have confidence in me. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. Nagender Dubey, Senior Relationship Manager, ABFL for providing me the required exposure for selecting the project topic from the various upcoming fields. I am also extremely grateful to Mr. Swaraj Kaushal, Senior Relationship Manager, Mr. Ramender Dwivedi, Relationship Manager and Mr. Mahesh Sinha, Executive Operations for their constant support and valuable advices that helped to complete this project successfully. This project would not have been possible without the faith that our professor Mr. Manuraj Jain showed in me. We would also like to thank the management at Birla Institute of Management Technology for their cooperation and support. Lastly, we would like to thank our families and friends for their encouragement and tolerance towards us through the project.

Table of Contents
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 4 4.1 4.2 5 6 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 Executive Summary Introduction Aditya Birla Group Group Companies About Aditya Birla Finance Products offered by ABFL Products offered by Corporate Finance Department Invoice Discounting Channel Finance Vendor Financing Debt Syndication Channel Finance Advantages in Channel Finance Risks involved with Channel Finance Scope of Channel finance in Indian Market Challenges of Channel Finance Fee Structure involved with Channel finance Documents required by the client for Channel Finance facility Major Competitors of Aditya Birla Finance Methodology Comparison of ABFL with its competitors Conclusion Appendix Credit norms for Trade Finance followed by ABFL Debtor Limits Domestic Factoring Parameters for Rating Client Rating based on rating model Questionnaire prepared for client and group companies 4 5 5 6 7 8 10 10 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 22 25 26 26 27 28 33 34

Executive Summary

Channel Finance is an innovative option for extending working capital finance to dealers who have business relationships with large companies. Channel Financing is the mechanism through which a financial institution meets the various funds related requirements along the Supply Chain at the suppliers end. This thereby helps the supplier in sustaining a seamless business flow and avoiding Working Capital related difficulties. Channel Finance usually covers discounting of Trade Bills drawn by a company and accepted by its dealers, distributors or Channel Partners. It also provides overdraft facility to the dealers or distributors who have business dealings with large Corporate. Here in Aditya Birla Finance Ltd(ABFL) this facility of Channel Finance is provided to the corporates mainly on the recommendation by the Aditya Birla Group companies. The Group companies provide raw material and supplies to many industries and SMEs on credit. By this facility Aditya Birla Finance extends this facility to the customers of the Aditya Birla group companies so as to meet the working capital requirements of these organisations. Once these companies are recommended by the group they are then evaluated and the credit limits are ascertained. The objective of the project is to study the Indian Market for the Channel Finance facility and compare this service offered by different financial institutions. The comparison has been done mainly on the basis of turnaround time and interest rate which have been provided by the various financial institutions. The data provided in the report has been primary data. Also a few group companies and clients were visited to understand about the product in a more detailed manner and also to get details regarding the product for the comparison. For the group companies a questionnaire was prepared.

1. Introduction

1.1 Aditya Birla Group

The Aditya Birla Group is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India with operations in 25 countries including Thailand, Dubai, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, Australia, China, USA, UK, Germany, Hungary, Brazil, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea. A US $29.2 billion corporation, the Aditya Birla Group is in the league of Fortune 500. It is anchored by an extraordinary force of 130,000 employees, belonging to 30 different nationalities. In India, the Group has been adjudged "The Best Employer in India and among the top 20 in Asia" by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007. Over 50 per cent of its revenues flow from its overseas operations. Globally the Aditya Birla Group is:
(i)

A metals powerhouse, among the world's most cost-efficient aluminium and copper producers. Hindalco-Novelis is the largest aluminium rolling company. It is one of the three biggest producers of primary aluminium in Asia, with the largest single location copper smelter.

(ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

No.1 in viscose staple fibre. The fourth largest producer of insulators . The fourth largest producer of carbon black. The 11th largest cement producer globally, the seventh largest in Asia and the second largest in India. Among the world's top 15 BPO companies and among India's top four. Among the best energy efficient fertiliser plants. A premier branded garments player. The second largest player in viscose filament yarn. The second largest in the chlor-alkali sector. Among the top five mobile telephony companies. A leading player in life insurance and asset management. Among the top three supermarket chains in the retail business.

(vi) (vii)

In India:
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)

1.2 Group companies

1. Grasim Industries Ltd.
a.

Viscose Stable Fibre

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Nagda in Madhya Pradesh Harihar in Karnataka Kharach in Gujarat Rayon Grade Pulp in Harihar in Karnataka Grey Cement UltraTech Cement(in process) White Cement

b.

Cement (i) (ii) (iii)

c.

Aditya Birla Chemicals Ltd (mainly used to supply raw materials to Viscose stable Fibre units)

2. Hindalco Industries Ltd. a. Hindalco Aluminium(primary metal and FRP only) b. Birla Copper 3. Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. a. Indian Rayon: Viscose Filament Yarn b. Madura Garments: Garments c. Carbon Black: Hi-Tech Carbon d. Indo Gulf Fertilisers: Agri solutions e. Jaya Shree Textiles: Textiles f. Aditya Birla Insulators: Insulators g. Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Limited: Business Process Outsourcing h. Aditya Birla Minacs IT Services Limited: Software services i. Financial services

(i)

Aditya Birla Finance Limited (erstwhile Birla Global Finance Company Limited)

(ii) (iii)

Birla Insurance Advisory and Broking Services Limited, Aditya Birla Money Mart Limited (erstwhile Birla Sun Life Distribution Company Limited)

(iv)

Aditya Birla Money Limited (erstwhile Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited)

(v) j. Garments (i) (ii) (iii)

Aditya Birla Capital Advisors Private Limited

Madura Garments Exports Limited Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail Company Limited Peter England Fashions and Retail Limited

k. Idea Cellular Limited: Telecom l. Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Limited: Asset management 4. UltraTech Cement Ltd. 5. Essel Mining & Industries Ltd(iron ore) 6. Aditya Birla Retail Limited (More and More mega mart) 7. Tanfac Industries Limited(inorganic chemicals and fluorides) 8. Grasim Bhiwani Textiles limited

1.3 About Aditya Birla Finance Limited

Aditya Birla Finance Limited, a part of the Aditya Birla Group, is one of Indias leading non-banking financial companies (NBFC) having diversified interests in the financial services sector. Incorporated in 1991, the company is one of the largest players in security based lending. ABFL offers specialized solutions in areas of Capital Markets and Corporate Finance.

The company has been rated as A1+ by ICRA, for its short-term borrowings, which indicates highest-credit-quality. The Capital Market Group offers its customers the best opportunity to meet their liquidity requirements. It also provides finance for investments in the primary market. Some of the product offerings include Loan against security of equity shares, mutual fund units and other marketable securities, IPO funding, Line of Credit against securities and LAS Syndication. The Capital Market Group is the pioneer in IPO Financing in India. The Corporate Finance Group deals with SMEs and large corporate clients and aims to provide innovative and customized solutions to meet their short term working capital needs. Its strength lies in structuring complex deals for their clients. The Corporate Finance group has developed significant domain expertise which is reflected in its impressive record of no NPAs since inception along with a large, diversified yet safe portfolio. While continuing to expand its footprint outside the Aditya Birla Group, it also plans to increase its presence within the Aditya Birla Group by driving synergies through specialized financing solutions to associated vendors and customers. Some of its product offerings include Bill Discounting, Factoring, Reverse Factoring, Channel Financing, Vendor Financing and Debt Syndication.

1.4 Products offered by ABFL

1. Capital Market: The Capital Market Group offers its customers the best opportunity to meet their liquidity requirements. It provides finance for investments in the primary and the secondary market. Aditya Birla Finance (ABFL) is the pioneer in IPO Financing in India. The Capital Market product offerings include: (i) Loan against securities (equity shares, mutual fund units and other marketable securities like AAA rated corporate bonds, Govt. Securities) (ii) IPO Funding

(iii) (iv) (v) 2.

Line of credit against securities Motor Funding ESOP

Corporate Finance: The Corporate Finance Group deals with SMEs and large corporate clients and aims to provide innovative and customized solutions to meet their working capital needs. Our valued relationship with several blue chip companies & SMEs demonstrate our expertise and commitment. Some of our strengths that give us an operational edge are Speed, Flexibility, Seamlessness, and Structured Solutions. The Corporate Finance Product Suite includes: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Invoice Discounting Channel Financing Vendor Financing Debt Syndication

2. Products offered by the Corporate Finance Department

2.1 Invoice Discounting
Working capital is one of the essentials for smooth running of your business. This facility includes finance against your domestic receivables by discounting invoices. It helps to convert the receivables into instant cash which improves liquidity resulting into healthy and continuous cash flow of your business. Its benefits are:
1. Instant conversion of your receivables into cash 2. Financing facility without any charge on assets 3. Provide hassle-free finance 4. Lower Margin requirements

2.2 Channel Financing

Channel Financing is an innovative product to extend working capital finance to dealers having business relationships with large companies in India. Through this product Dealers are able to leverage their relationship with reputed companies in sourcing low cost funds. It aims to provide integrated financial solutions to the distribution channels. This may be in the form of either invoice discounting or a bill discounting line of credit. The corporate provides services like Stop Supply Letter, Assistance in Recovery & Resale. Facility can be structured as per the requirements to help the dealers/franchises. Its benefits are: 1. Assure availability of Working Capital finance to their channel partners at lower cost of credit. 2. Acts as a marketing tool and helps in strengthening their relationship with Channel Partners. 3. Greater efficiencies in Receivables and Cash Management Process for corporate. 4. Ability to introduce payment discipline with their Channel Partners.

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5. Steady and cheaper source of Working Capital financing for Channel Partners. 6. Increased Sales through higher purchasing power for Channel Partners. 7. Clean facility up to certain limits. 8. Simplicity of documentation and approval procedures. 9. High service and delivery standards compared to current neighbourhood Banker/Moneylender. 10. Channel partners may be able to increase profitability by availing of cash discounts from Corporate.

2.3 Vendor Financing

Under vendor financing, facilities are made available to vendors of Large Corporates. These credit facilities would be granted against specific transactions such as bill discounting or invoice discounting. Unlike Corporate Bill discounting limit which is a limit to the corporate, this is a limit to the vendor. Accordingly, limit is outside the banking arrangement of the Corporates. Our team would also assist vendors in structuring finance against confirmed purchase orders from their customers. Its benefits are: 1. Assured and continuous availability of Working Capital to vendors. 2. Gives negotiating power on the Credit Period and Supply preference to the corporate. 3. Improves liquidity of the vendors, which increases his ability to supply larger volumes. 4. Competitive Pricing.

2.4 Debt Syndication

Debt Syndication encompasses funding activities for diverse business requirements of corporations. Corporates are advised and assisted to leverage on debt as an instrument to raise short-term and long-term capital through structured financial products. This could

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be for various requirements including expansions, working capital and also for structuring and syndicating funds for acquisitions. Short term debt can be raised through the following:
1. Commercial Paper and Mibor-linked Paper - Placement of commercial paper

and short-term Mibor-linked papers with Mutual Funds/ Insurance Companies/ Banks at fixed and floating rate.
2.

Short Term Loans - Structuring and arranging Short Term Loans / FCNR (B) from Banks for meeting working capital requirements.

3. Inter-Corporate Deposits (ICD) - Private placement of Inter corporate deposits. 4. Buyers / Suppliers Credit - Syndicates low cost borrowing for imports and

exports at Libor linked rates from overseas lenders.

5. Working Capital Facilities - Arranges fund-based and non-fund based limits for

clients from Banks. Long term debt can be raised through the following:

1. Project Finance / Term Loans for Expansion - Arranges Long-term loans for
setting up new projects from Financial Institutions and Banks.

2. External Commercial Borrowings - Arranges Libor-linked long-term loans from

overseas lenders in the form of ECBs.

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3. Channel Finance
Forward and backward linkages in a business organization play a significant role in the success or failure of the business entity. For example a manufacturing or trading firm, while the suppliers of raw material are important as they provide input for production, equally important is the role of its distributors which sell products manufactured by the firm through retailers to the ultimate consumer. Channel financing relates to ensuring that integrated financial and commercial solution is available to the entire chain of supply and distribution that could ensure the good health of the firm, financed by the bank. Channel financing is different from the conventional lending since, in conventional lending, the financing banks are generally not concerned as to how the suppliers of the firm and dealers of the products of firm, are financing their activity. The weak financials of the supplier (leading to delay in supply and non-availability of market credit) or the dealers of the products (delay in receipt in payment leading to higher book debts) could adversely impact the top-line(sales) as well as bottom-line(profits) of the financed firm. In the channel financing the financing bank may have to find ways and means as to how the suppliers and buyers can be financed through various instruments/facilities. Hence, the channel financing adds value to the transaction for all the parties concerned, be it the manufacturer/trader, the supplier of the inputs or the dealer/buyer or the financing bank. Through channel financing, the business firms can out-source a major part of their working capital needs thereby reducing their dependence on bank finance. For instance, it need not avail of credit from its bank to pay off the supplier if the supplier gets the finance in his own name from the bank for the raw materials supplied on credit in the form of say, drawee bills financing. The bank can also allow loan to the dealer for the credit term that has been fixed between the firm and the dealer in the form of receivable finance or finance against book debts or factoring of the receivables. This enables the manufacturing firm to get cash immediately for the finished goods supplied. This firm functions as the principal customer which suggests the names of its suppliers and dealers to the bank. Thereafter, the bank makes

13

a due diligence assessment of the suppliers/dealers standing and credit worthiness and decides to provide finance on merit. The pre and post sale working capital requirement of the manufacturing concern would be scaled down. Such firms can concentrate more on their core competence area of production and marketing their products besides saving time and costs involved in arranging creditors and monitoring recovery. As regards the suppliers and dealers, the major benefit is that they get payments promptly, which improve their liquidity position and cost. This also helps them as well as the bank to cut level of counter party risks. The banks also gain substantially from the process of channel financing which include increased customer base, effective due diligence and smoothness of lending activity and loan origination process. Besides, the banks will be able to ensure better credit discipline. Since the risk is diversified through finance to supplier, manufacturer and the dealers, the credit exposure norms are better observed. Hence channel financing is a very convenient tool in managing their assets portfolio. Channel financing, due to its distinct advantages to the business firms as well as banks, has been suggested for implementation in various forms, by various committees in India such as receivable financing by Tandon Committee, drawee bills financing by Chore Committee and through factoring by Kalyansundram Committee. Channel financing opens up manifold opportunities due to which the banks can make conscious efforts at popularizing this credit delivery mechanism.

3.1 Advantages of Channel Financing

The following are the advantages of channel finance to corporates:
1. Assured availability of Working Capital finance to their channel partners at lower

than current cost of credit.

2. Corporate can use Channel Finance as a marketing tool and strengthen their

relationship / reward loyalty of their Channel Partners.

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3. Release of funds from the Balance Sheet resulting in improvement in financial Ratios. 4. Conversion of Balance Sheet into an Off Balance Sheet liability. 5. Greater efficiencies in the Corporates receivable management and cash management

process. 6. Ability to introduce payment discipline with their Channel Partners.

7. Immediate payment to the supplier which is not in the case of Bank overdraft. 8. Sales and Administrative cost is saved when channel finance is taken thus the

employees can concentrate on their core job.

9. In channel finance a credit period is given to the corporate which is not in the case of

Bill discounting or Bank overdraft facility.

10. Low margin as security is deposited in the case of channel finance whereas in the case

of bank overdraft and bill discounting a higher margin has to be deposited. The following are the benefits of channel finance to dealers/distributers:
1. Steady and cheaper source of Working Capital financing. 2. Channel partners can increase Sales through higher purchasing power.

3. Clean facility up to certain limits.

4. Simplicity of documentation and approval procedures.

5. High service and delivery standards compared to current neighbourhood Banker/Moneylenders\Channel partners may be able to increase profitability by availing of cash discounts from Corporate.

3.2 Risks involved with Channel Finance

1.

Financial Risk

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Financial risk is normally any risk associated with any form of financing. It is associated with the financing company providing the facility to the corporate. This type of risk is covered under credit insurance just in case the customer gets bankrupt. Credit insurance is an insurance policy and a risk management product offered by private insurance companies and governmental export credit agencies to business entities wishing to protect their balance sheet asset, accounts receivable, from loss due to credit risks such as protracted default, insolvency, bankruptcy, etc. This insurance product, commonly referred to as credit insurance, is a type of property & casualty insurance and should not be confused with such products as credit life or credit disability insurance, which the insured obtains to protect against the risk of loss of income needed to pay debts. Credit Insurance can include a component of political risk insurance which is offered by the same insurers to insure the risk of non-payment by foreign buyers due to currency issues, political unrest, expropriation, etc. The major companies providing credit insurance in India are New India Assurance, ECGC, and ICICI Lombard etc.

2. Transaction Risk
Transaction risk is the risk associated with the transaction of goods between the customer and his dealer. This can be in the form of loss of goods, damaged goods etc. This risk is covered by the financial institutions by collecting PDCs from the customer. The total amount of the PDCs is same as that of the sanctioned limit of the customer.

3.3 Scope of Channel Finance in the Indian Market

Often channel companies with high levels of technical expertise are unable to realize the full potential of their capabilities due to lack of proper working capital. Smart financing can help them to grab new opportunities and manage the huge business growth happening today. It is said that the key to sustaining the high growth momentum is to manage good cash flows. Several channel partners sacrifice business opportunities due to working capital constraints. Channel financing can helps tackle this loss of opportunities. Finance options allow more

16

transactions within a single credit cycle, helping the company grow faster. Moreover, it helps companies to move from a hardware-centric to a solutions-driven business and take on larger and complex deals. Companies for which a large chunk of our business comes from the government, where accounts receivable days are higher, they have to predict about their cash flows very carefully before bidding for such projects. With many companies moving up the value chain to increase their solutions and services play, managing cash flows has become imperative. When an organisation moves from corporate reselling to solution provision and as deal size gets bigger and more complex, availing financing options has become the need of the hour for many solution providers. Channel Finance has helped the several companies to get aggressive in taking bigger credit exposures, a requirement for bagging large projects. It has also enhanced their ability to service more deals. Distributors too are aware of the need for channel financing and have introduced various programs to enable their key partners with tools to avail more financing options. In a recent study, those companies that avail channel financing have grown at a faster pace than those that dont. Initially there was great difficulty in convincing corporates to use the option. But in the last two years over 150 companies have started using this scheme. At present banks prefer larger companies with proper balance sheets for bill discounting. Smaller companies are usually not given priority and have to pay higher interest rates. For such smaller companies NBFCs and other financial institutions offer a variety of solutions or lower interest rates. Vendors too are doing their bit to help channels manage their internal finances better as well as empower them with customer financing schemes. Also with the integration of the Indian economy, most of the export payments are usually done through factors.

3.4 Challenges for Channel Finance

The following are the major challenges that these products face in India: 1. While there are more options for corporates to raise finances than ever before, only a small segment of the companies is presently availing channel financing options. To be

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eligible for this facility, borrowers need to have strong financials and transparent reporting which is currently lacking among a large number of companies. 2. Lack of financial planning is another issue compounded by the lack of qualified and experienced personnel to manage the finances. 3. There is also a misconception that availing loans will create an interest burden on the already dipping bottom-line. Contrary to this notion, availing finance will allow a company to carry out more transactions within a single credit cycle, thus reducing the total effective operating expense incurred per credit cycle 4. Availment of financing necessitates strong fiscal discipline. Once financing options are availed one has to get smart with the overall finance management. Forecasting of the working capital needs becomes paramount and clients have to ensure that bankers are paid on time lest credibility is lost and the ability to raise future finances is affected. Smart financing enables companies to improve their capabilities to benefit from new opportunities and speed up growth. 5. Even after RBI has given approval for products like channel finance, factoring etc there is a lot of non-cooperation from the banks regarding issuance of letter of disclaimer and Opinion reports. Further, banks offer multiple products as against limited facilities of financing offered by most of the NBFCs which acts as a hurdle for the corporate to switch to NBFCs for their financing requirement. 6. The corporates dont prefer channel financing as NBFCs have a higher rate of interest than the banks due to their higher cost of funds. Other working capital products like overdraft facility, cash credit account, letter of credit etc. carry lower rate of interest. 7. Also one of the major challenges which corporate face is non-cooperation from there debtors and creditors. 8. Lack of awareness about the product.

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3.5 Fee Structure involved with Channel Finance Interest Rate

Interest rate is the rate which is charged for the use of money. An interest rate is often expressed as an annual percentage of the principal. It is calculated by dividing the amount of interest by the amount of principal. Interest rates often change as a result of inflation and Reserve Bank policies. Interest Rates also changes according to the risk profile of the customer. It is usually charged on the basis of the period for which the money has been borrowed.

Initial Margin Money

Initial Margin Money is the amount paid upfront by the client to ABFL as promoters contribution to the purchase finance requirements. Usually 5% to 10% of the limit amount is paid by client as initial margin money.

Handling Charges
Handling charges are charged per invoice. It is usually 0.10% to 0.40% of the invoice value. These handling charges are applied per invoice with a certin minimum of appr Rs 100 per invoice.

Processing Charges/ Limit set up fee

The processing charges are the charges paid for processing the loan proposal of a client. These are applied only once the client has been approved and limits have been sanctioned. The processing charges are usually 0.25% to 1%. Facility is valid for one year from the date of sanction/renewal.

Renewal Fees
These charges are levied every year on renewal of the facility. and normally in the range of 0.25% to 1%.

Penalty on delay in Payment

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A Penalty charge is levied on the client if he fails to make the payment within the due date as specified in the sanction letter. An extra 4% is charged over and above the normal rate of interest.

3.6 Documents required from the client for Channel Finance Facility
The following are the documents required to analyse a client requesting for channel finance facility: 1. Last 3 years audited financials and latest quarterly/half yearly provisional financials 2. Projected sales and cash flow for the company for the next 5 years. 3. Copy of the MOA, AOA (for companies) /Partnership deed (for partnership firms). 4. Brief Business profile and product profile.. 5. Brief background of the promoters and their share holding pattern. 6. Details of credit facility with any other financial institution with latest sanction letter. 7. Copy of the latest bank statements (minimum last 6 months) of CC A/c and term loan accounts. 8. Repayment schedule of the loans for the next 3 years. 9. Main customers of the clients and volume of sales. 10. Main suppliers of the clients and volume. 11. Sales ledger for the buyer against whom the facility is being availed for. 12. Length of Relationship and % dependence on the corporate against whom channel finance is applied. 13. Details of associate/group companies with key financials and nature of business.

4. Major Competitors of Aditya Birla Finance

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1. Canbank Factors: domestic recourse factoring, also offer undisclosed factoring depending on the customer 2. SBI Global Factors Ltd.: recourse and non-recourse. 3. HSBC Factors: both domestic and international, both recourse and non-recourse 4. Development Credit Bank: both recourse and non-recourse 5. Citibank- Receivables Financing 6. L&T Finance
7. India Factoring and Finance solutions Pvt Ltd.

8. Royal Bank of Scotland: only recourse 9. IFCI Factors(formerly foremost factors):recourse and disclosed factoring 10. Tata Capital 11. Bibby financial services 12. DBS 13. SIDBI 14. Axis Bank 15. HDFC Bank

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4.1 Methodology
The basic methodology followed was a visit and calling to the different competitors and collection of primary data from them for the analysis. The visits and calling was mainly made to the people handling the operations of the organisation. The following was the timeline for the project:
Task Introduction to Organisation and understanding different products and services offered by ABFL Analysis of Files for different Clients for different products and based on the analysis preparation of Questionnaire for the comparison Understanding of different operations of ABFL in different departments and collection of primary data Visits to the group companies and clients for collection of data on Channel Finance Analysis of data collected from clients and comparison with different NBFC's Preparing the Report and Suggestions on how ABFL can improve and how to implement them. A Start 0 Durati on 1 Dates Apr 8 to Apr 15

Apr 16 to Apr 22

Apr 23 to Apr 29 Apr 30 to May 13 May 14 to May 20 May 21 to June 4

D E

3 5

2 1

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4.2 Comparison of ABFL with its competitors on the basis of Turn around Time
Company Aditya Birla Finance HDFC Royal Bank of Scotland Tata Capital Global Trade Finance IFCI Factors Axis Bank Citibank Interest Rate 11-15% 10-14% 11-14% 11-15% 9-13% 9-13% Data unavailable Data unavailable Margin 10-20% 10-15% 10-15% 10-20% 10-20% 10-20% Data unavailable Data unavailable TAT 15-21 days 15-18 days 14 days 21 days 7-10 days 7-10 days 13-15 days 14 days

6. Conclusion

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The major advantage that the competitors have over ABFL is that their respective credit teams are present in the region unlike ABFL where the credit team is present in the head office in Mumbai. Thus a major improvement in TAT is required as this the area where competitors gain advantage over ABFL. With an allocation of a credit team in their branch offices or for a particular region this TAT can be reduced largely and an advantage can be gained over its competitors. In terms of rate Tata capital provides financing at a minimum base rate of 12%. This rate varies with the risk associated with the respective customers. Thus looking at this ABFL can try and capture the target market of Tata Capital. Otherwise in comparison with the other competitors, the rates offered by ABFL are pretty competitive. Regarding the norms which ABFL observes while analysing a new applicant there are a lot of areas where it is quite conservative and strict. For example if we see the maximum exposure in terms of sales is quite low at 15% which can be increased to 20-25%. This will help in the applicants in gaining the credit score also and thus help them reach the eligibility level. Similarly in the area of scoring of relationship with banks a high score is only given the bank has been used for over 10 years. This is quite strict as there are a number of companies who keep on changing there banks with the change in interest rates and their comfort.

Appendix

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A.1 Credit Norms for Trade Finance followed at ABFL

S.No. Particulars Invoice Discounting Suppliers of Manufacturing Distributors large corporate Credit Credit Credit Regular Regular Insurance Insurance Insurance Reverse Factoring

A 1 2 3 4 5

Financial Parameters of a Client Minimum Net Worth Minimum Turnover PAT for last 2 Yrs Minimum Current Ratio Maximum Overall Gearing(both long term and short term borrowing) Others Minimum years in business Minimum Client Rating(as per rating model) Security Personal Guarantee of all promoters PDC's UDC as Collateral Security Exposure For Invoice Discounting Facility Maximum Exposure restricted to least below a) % of net worth b) % of gross sales c) % of ABFL Net worth(as per RBI Norms) For Purchase Finance Facility

Positive 5 Crs Positive 1 03:01

10 Crs 100 Crs Positive 1.25 03:01

Positive 5 Crs Positive 1 05:01

Positive 5 Crs Positive 1 03:01

Positive 5 Crs Positive 1 04:01

B 1 2 C 1 2 3 D 1

2 B-

2 B+

2 B-

2 C

2 D

Must Must NA

Must Must NA

Must Must NA

Must NA Must

Preferred NA Preferred

2 times 15% 15% !5%

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Maximum Exposure restricted to least below a) % of net worth b) % of gross sales c) % of ABFL Net worth(as per RBI Norms) Client may be sanctioned multiple facilities subject to maximum exposure norms under each facility

50% 5% 15%

25% 4% 15%

100% 5% 15%

A.2 Debtor Limits

1. Individual debtor limits not to exceed 25% of total IDF limits. 2. Individual debtor limits may extend upto 50% of total limits in case of A rated corporate of the Capital Market group of ABFL.

A.3 Domestic Factoring Parameters for Rating

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S.No. Parameters A Management Competency 1 Key Promoters Experience in years >=10 years >=5years and <10 years >=2 years and <5years <2 years 2 Key promoter educational background Professional degree/graduate with more than 10 years of experience Graduate Undergraduate 3 Demarcation of Activity Well qualified & defined roles with demarcation visible among second line of management Self reliance and demarcation not visible among second line of management No defined roles and demarcation 4 Trade Reference Excellent Good Average Below average 5 Financial Reference-Relationship with bank Excellent-over 10 years Good-between 5 to 10 years Average-between 2 to 5 years Below average-less than 2 years 6 Financial Flexibility- Ability to raise finance Good relationship with bankers, sector positive company performing Good relationship with bankers, sector positive company underperforming Good relationship with bankers, sector negative company performing Recent Relationship/change with banker, sector negative and company underperforming 7 Production facilities

Score

3 2 1 0

2 1 0

2 1 0

3 2 1 0

3 2 1 0

3 2 1 0

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Well planned/latest machineries/no breakages in business Well planned/no breakages in business Planning evident/breakages in business No planning evident/ breakage history in business 8 Labour relationship Cordial with no labour/union dispute Instances of some labour/union disputes Major labour/union problems B Business Risk 1 Demand Prospects High growth>=20% Medium Growth >=10% and <20% Steady Growth >=0% and < 10 % Negative Growth 2 Competition Risk Low Average High 3 Availability of Raw Material Locally available with no dependence on imports Locally available/dependence on reports less than 10% locally available/dependence on imports between 10% to 20% no available locally 4 Price Trend Slow movement in price fluctuation/able to pass it on to the customers Slow movement in price fluctuation/partly to pass it on to the customers Moderate movement in price fluctuation/partly to pass it on to the customers High Movement in Price fluctuation/not able to pass it on to the customers 5 Sector Concentration Risk Less than 20% exposure on single sector between 20 to 30% exposure on single sector between 30 to 50% exposure on single sector More than 50% exposure on a single sector

3 2 1 0

2 1 0

3 2 1 0

2 1 0

3 2 1 0

3 2 1 0

3 2 1 0

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6 Power Availability Assured Power supply with own backup arrangement Dependence on power supply with no back up arrangement Non-availability of power supply 7 Expansion/Diversification Plan Moderate Expansion plan visible with tie up of funds Huge expansion plans/expansion plans yet to be filed up 8 Capacity Utilisation Operating at over 80% of installed capacity operating between 60 to 80% Operating between 50 to 60% Operating below 50% 9 Forex Risk No. Lower forex risk with proper hedging policy in place Low forex risk with no proper hedging policy in place High forex risk with proper hedging policy in place High forex risk with no proper hedging policy in place C Financial Assessment 1 Sales Growth(2years) >40% 25 to 40% 20 to 25% 10 to 20% 2.5 to 10% <=2.5% Decreasing 2 Overall gearing <2 2 to 2.25 2.25 to 2.5 2.5 to 3 3 to 3.5 3.5 to 4 >4 3 EBITDA Margin >12.5% 10 to 12.5% 7.5 to 10%

2 1 0

2 1

3 2 1 0

3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4

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5 to 7.5% 2.5 to 5% 1.5 to 2.5% <=1.5% 4 Interest Coverage >4 3 to 4 2.5 to 3 2 to 2.5 1.5 to 2 1 to 1.5 <1 5 PAT Margin >7.5% 4 to 7.5% 3 to 4% 2 to 3% 1 to 2% 0.5 to 1% <0.5% 6 Current Ratio 1.3 to 1.5 1.25 to 1.3 1.2 to 1.25 1.15 to 1.2 1.1 to 1.15 1 to 1.1 <1 or >1.5 7 Debtors Year on year growth <5days 5 to 10 days 11 to 15 days 16 to 19 days 20 to 35 days 36 to 60 days >60 days 8 Inventory year on year growth <5days 5 to 10 days

3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6 5

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11 to 15 days 16 to 19 days 20 to 35 days 36 to 60 days >60 days 9 Payables year on year growth <5days 5 to 10 days 11 to 15 days 16 to 19 days 20 to 35 days 36 to 60 days >60 days

4 3 2 1 0

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

A.4 Client Rating based on Rating Model

Rating A+ AB+ BC D Score 90 <= Score <=100 80 <= Score < 90 70 <= Score <80 60 <= Score < 70 50 <= Score < 60 40 <= Score < 50

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Score < 40

A.5 Questionnaire prepared for Clients and group companies

Name of Organisation Address : :

Name of Concerned Person : Contact No. Date of Visit : :

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1. Which is the first financial institution which comes to your mind while suggesting channel finance for your customers and reasons for the same? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the rates of interest, margin, processing charges of different financial institutions (except ABFL)? Bank Rate of Interest Margin Processing Charges Handling Charges

3. What is the Turn Around Time of other financial institutions for sanctioning the limits? Bank TAT

4. How much is the time taken by other financial institutions in remitting payments ? What are the documentary requirements of other institutions for discounting . Bank Time Taken Documents required

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5. Which institution is handling the major portion of your channel financing portfolio. _____________________________________________________________________ 6. Which institution is more liberal in sanctioning limit amounts as per recommendation of your and requirement of customers? _____________________________________________________________________ 7. Benefits in services offered by ABFL over other banks. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ 8. What is the lead time in ABFL and other financial institutions when clients are recommended? Bank ABFL Lead Time

9. On a scale of 10 where would you rate ABFL. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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10. Suggestions/required changes for improvement in channel financing product. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

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