Shriram Housing Finance told the media that its Assets Under Management (AUM) or live loan grew by 45% this fiscal year to cross the Rs 5,000 crore mark, making it the fifth-largest low-cost housing loan segment. The company was impacted by the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which delayed collection and disbursals. Its target of Rs 5,000 crore AUM was set for December 2021. The company commenced operations in December 2011 and operates around 100 standalone branches and more than 200 branches in Shriram City Union and Shriram Transport Finance. The company will cross its footprint of 105 own branches and 218 kiosks by the end of this month. If the company were not affected by the third wave, the AUM would have already crossed the Rs 5,000 crore target in December. Managing Director and Chief Executive of Shriram Housing Finance, Ravi Subramanian, told the media that the pandemic affected the annual target of Rs 5,500 crore of live loans, and the company will be closing the year with Rs 5,200-5,300 crore of AUM. Aadhar Housing leads the housing finance segment with a loan book of around Rs 14,000 crore, followed by Awas and Repco with around Rs 10,000 crore each, with Homefirst slightly more. He said that the company would overtake the present number and become the fourth-largest with an AUM of Rs 5,200-5,300 crore. He added that the company would further become the fastest-growing firm in the segment with the highest quality. However, the gross non-performing asset (GNPA) declined from 5.6% to 1.49% and will further drop to 1.1-1.3% by the end of this quarter. Only 7% of the one lakh customers are first-time borrowers. More emphasis on collection led to collection efficiency to 99.7% in December, and 97% of the customers have paid at least one equated monthly installment (EMI) in the third quarter (Q3). Subramanian said that more demand is coming from the households from the low-end income spectrum, especially where the sources of employment and income remain informal. He added they had provided loans to over one lakh customers, and their average ticket size is Rs 16 lakh. Image Source Also read: Shriram Transport Finance to raise Rs 500 cr via QIP