YES Bank and Northern Arc Capital have entered into a strategic partnership to expand access to credit, scale digital lending and provide debt investment opportunities to customers.
The collaboration brings together YES Bank’s balance-sheet strength, digital infrastructure and distribution capabilities with Northern Arc Capital’s underwriting expertise, technology platforms and origination network to expand formal credit access across underserved segments in India.
Collaboration backed by SMBC
The partnership is an outcome of YES Bank’s collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the bank’s largest strategic shareholder and also a key shareholder in Northern Arc Capital.
SMBC has helped bring together two complementary platforms with strong synergies across origination, distribution, technology and balance-sheet capacity. The companies said the alliance marks the first of several synergistic collaborations aimed at accelerating the growth journeys of both YES Bank and Northern Arc Capital.
Expanding credit access
Northern Arc Capital will leverage its network of 368 originator partners, comprising financial institutions across the country, to facilitate substantial credit deployment for YES Bank through its Placements Business.
The partnership will provide YES Bank access to a diversified pipeline of granular credit opportunities sourced from Northern Arc Capital’s established ecosystem of lending partners.
By combining Northern Arc Capital’s origination and structuring expertise with YES Bank’s lending capacity, the initiative is expected to strengthen the flow of formal credit to underserved borrower segments while supporting scalable and responsible credit expansion.
Focus on co-lending
The alliance also aims to accelerate retail lending growth for both institutions through Northern Arc Capital’s nPOS co-lending platform.
The model will be supported by data-led underwriting, structured risk-sharing mechanisms and robust portfolio monitoring frameworks.
Leveraging Northern Arc Capital’s diversified ecosystem of origination partners across underserved markets, the platform is designed to scale granular lending efficiently while maintaining portfolio quality and transparency.
Investment opportunities for customers
As part of the agreement, Northern Arc Investment Managers (NAIM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northern Arc Capital, will offer Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Portfolio Management Services (PMS) to YES Bank’s retail, affluent and institutional investors.
Further, Altifi, Northern Arc Capital’s online bonds platform, will be integrated with YES Bank’s wealth management ecosystem to provide seamless access to fixed-income investment products through a transparent and technology-enabled interface.
Technology integration at the core
A key pillar of the partnership is the integration of technology platforms across both organisations.
Northern Arc Capital’s proprietary platforms, including nPOS, NIMBUS and NuScore, will be integrated with YES Bank’s digital lending architecture to enable seamless loan onboarding and credit delivery at scale.
Bringing together complementary capabilities
Northern Arc Capital Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashish Mehrotra said: “India’s next phase of financial inclusion will be driven by institutions that can combine technology, distribution and risk intelligence at scale. This partnership brings together complementary capabilities to build a more efficient and accessible financial ecosystem for underserved borrowers and emerging investors. At Northern Arc, we remain focused on strengthening the ecosystem that connects capital to opportunities across India’s evolving credit markets.”
New investment opportunities
YES Bank Executive Director Rajan Pental said: “YES Bank’s partnership with Northern Arc Capital aligns with our strategy to build technology-enabled credit infrastructure that can serve India’s diverse financial needs at scale. Northern Arc’s origination platforms and underwriting capabilities, combined with our strong balance-sheet and digital architecture, create a powerful engine for expanding formal credit across priority segments. On the investment front, this collaboration opens institutional-quality private credit and alternative investment opportunities to a broader client base.”