BENGALURU (Reuters) -India’s IIFL Home Finance named Girish Kousgi, former chief executive and managing director of PNB Housing Finance, as its new CEO and MD, effective Thursday, succeeding Monu Ratra.
Kousgi has nearly three decades of experience in the banking and financial services industry. He is seen driving PNB Housing’s push into the affordable housing segment, helping its loan book grow faster than peers such as LIC Housing Finance.
“With his appointment, IIFL Home Finance aims to further strengthen its leadership position in the affordable housing finance segment and accelerate its growth trajectory across business verticals,” the company said in a statement.
The move comes at a time when large home finance companies are facing heightened competition from banks in the premium lending segment. Analysts say that several financiers have scaled back business in high-value housing loans as they are unable to match bank pricing without compressing margins.
In contrast, the affordable housing market has emerged as an attractive growth avenue for home financiers, offering higher yields due to limited competition from major banks.
Prior to his stint at PNB Housing, Kousgi served as MD and CEO of Can Fin Homes. He has also held senior leadership positions at Tata Capital Financial Services, IDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
(Reporting by Nishit Navin; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Sonia Cheema)
