Cholamandalam Investment strengthened its diversified lending franchise and served more than 47.5 lakh customers; profit after tax grew 23% to INR 5,220 crore

Cholamandalam Investment strengthened its diversified lending franchise and served more than 47.5 lakh customers; profit after tax grew 23% to INR 5,220 crore

The Print Times

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited (Chola), was incorporated in 1978 as the financial services arm of the Murugappa Group. Chola commenced business as an equipment financing company and has today emerged as a comprehensive financial services provider offering vehicle finance, home loans, loan against property, SME Loans, Secured Business Personal Loans (SBPL), Consumer & Small Enterprise Loans (CSEL), Gold Loan, Consumer Durable Loans and a variety of other financial services to customers.

At Chola, our journey of progress is anchored in strong values, guided by a clear purpose and driven by an unwavering commitment to serving India’s evolving financial needs. Our mission of “Enabling Customers to Enter a Better Life” remains the cornerstone of every decision we make. It shapes how we expand, serve customers, strengthen capabilities and create sustainable value. In FY 2025–26, we continued to grow with discipline, resilience and a strong commitment to integrity, customer centricity and long-term value creation.

During the year, we expanded our reach across India, strengthened our diversified lending franchise and served a larger customer base. Our branch network increased to 1,761 branches, and we served more than 47.5 lakh customers. Our presence in smaller towns and semi-urban markets remained a key strength, enabling us to stay close to customers and support their aspirations.

Performance during the year 

FY 2025–26 was a year of steady growth across businesses. Total disbursements increased to ₹1,11,642 crore from ₹1,00,869 crore in the previous year. Business AUM grew 21% to ₹2,24,334 crore, while total assets under management stood at ₹2,42,630 crore.

Total income was ₹31,445 crore. Profit before tax grew 21% to ₹6,961 crore, and profit after tax grew 23% to ₹5,220 crore. Net interest margin improved to 8.0%, PBT-ROTA was maintained at 3.3%, and return on equity remained healthy at 19.7%. Capital adequacy stood at 19.2%, with Tier I capital at 14.7%.

Business segment highlights

Vehicle Finance remained an important pillar of our business. Disbursements grew 15% to ₹62,123 crore, AUM grew 18% to ₹1,19,558 crore, and PBT grew 11% to ₹3,145 crore. After a challenging period for the sector, demand conditions strengthened towards the latter part of the year. Early delinquencies and nonstarter trends also improved, reflecting the benefits of continued underwriting discipline. Diversification across vehicle segments and geographies continued to provide resilience. Faster customer journeys supported competitiveness, with nearly 50% of two-wheeler disbursements completed through fast-track processes within a few hours.

Loan Against Property delivered another strong year. Disbursements increased to ₹20,459 crore, while AUM grew to ₹52,295 crore. The business remained a strong contributor to our MSME and mortgage franchise, supported by branch expansion, healthy demand and focused execution. PBT grew 44%, and return on assets on a PBT basis improved to 3.9% from 3.6%. We will continue to deepen this business in smaller towns and rural areas while retaining our presence in Tier I and Tier II markets.

Home Loans business continued to support home ownership, especially among middle-income and lower middle-income customers. Disbursements stood at ₹7,363 crore, while AUM grew 23% to ₹22,688 crore. Over the past three years, the business has expanded from a largely South-focused presence to a pan-India footprint, now serving around 1.68 lakh customers through 712 touchpoints. PBT grew 22% to ₹865 crore, with return on assets on a PBT basis at 4.2%.

Consumer and Small Enterprise Loans, Consumer Durables and Direct-to-Customer business continued to evolve. Disbursements stood at ₹10,249 crore, and AUM stood at ₹15,113 crore. During the year, we remained selective, focusing on portfolio quality through stronger underwriting, sharper customer selection and sustainable growth. The business now serves 11.5 lakh customers and provides a platform to deepen our presence in customers’ everyday financial lives.

Gold Loans our newest business line, was launched during FY 2025–26. In its first year, the business reached an AUM of ₹1,804 crore and operated through 119 branches. With strong controls, trust and transparency, we are building this business to provide quick access to secured credit. In FY 2026–27, we plan to add more than 300 branches, focusing on granular customers around our existing catchments.

As Chola grows, we continue to invest in capabilities that will support the next phase of our journey. Technology remains a key enabler across acquisition, origination, underwriting, disbursement, collections, reporting and analytics. These investments are improving turnaround times, strengthening controls, enhancing productivity and elevating customer experience.

Artificial intelligence is an important area of investment across sales, onboarding, credit assessment, operations, collections and customer engagement. AI agents, vernacular voice agents, OCR, document validation, facial verification and risk models are helping improve lead nurturing, credit profiling, verification and collections. Our objective is to use technology and AI to improve decisions, reduce turnaround time, lower servicing costs, enhance customer experience and strengthen risk control, with governance and human accountability.

The above speech is given by Vellayan Subbiah, Executive Chairman, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited in the annual report for FY 25-26
 

Published at : Oct 02, 2026 12:23 PM (IST)

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