Yes Bank nears closure of 4 deals in social sector

Yes Bank (YESBANK.NS : 249.55 +3.6) is looking to close four mandates in its $100 million niche social investment bank initiatives in the next three to five weeks.

These form a part of the 12 mandates the bank has initiated in the social sector, where it provides investment banking advisory services to small and micro companies.

The 12 mandates include, apart from education and healthcare, microfinance (microfinance technology as well as microfinance lending), and livelihood, where the bank has the mandate of a company which has a supply chain arrangement with rural artisans.

"We are raising around $100 million (in all the 12 deals). One is a large deal, around $50 million, while the others are in the $2 million to $4 million range," Somak Ghosh, group president, corporate finance and development banking, Yes Bank, said.

On the concept of social investment banking, Ghosh said that primary education and primary healthcare are a key focus area. In education, for instance, the company is looking at a firm providing vocational training to people from the low income group. This has a grant, and a revenue model, and Yes Bank gives financial advice.

Yes Bank is also in the process of raising its first private equity fund targeting the clean energy sector. This $200 million fund will be finalised by September. It will start investing in the October quarter, Ghosh said. The offerings of Yes Bank within the corporate finance group is primarily in three segments - infrastructure, food and agri and real estate.

Infrastructure advisory and financing start from pre-zero date advisory to syndicating the financing requirements of the project. In realty, the services include funded as well as non-funded exposures, including greenfield project financing, construction financing, lease rental discounting, asset backed/cash flow financing and project loan syndication.