Emotional connect

SGCF's Gautier: Focus on India.

Mumbai may be the financial services capital for most, but not for Societe Generale Consumer Finance (SGCF). A part of one of Europe's largest financial services groups, SGCF has chosen to flag off its Indian operations out of Kolkata. A few months ago, SGCF had acquired Apeejay Finance, a leading non-banking finance company (NBFC) in the West Bengal capital. This is the first global financial powerhouse to choose Kolkata as the headquarters for its Indian operations.

SGCF is keen to make its new brand 'FamilyCredit', the market leader in the Indian consumer credit market. Says Jean-Francois Gautier, Head of Specialised Financial Services of the Societe Generale Group, who was recently in Kolkata to flag off the India operations: "The experience and expertise gained by Societe Generale in its global operations will ensure both flexibility and economy to Indian consumers."

FamilyCredit currently offers loans for automobiles, two-wheelers and consumer durables. It also plans to offer personal loans shortly. One of the key differentiators in FamilyCredit's offerings will be a range of reliable offers for each member of the family, which will be introduced keeping in mind the needs of the Indian consumer. "Extensive expertise transfers are now taking place between SGCF experts and the young, high-caliber members of the erstwhile Apeejay Finance. We are also pursuing an aggressive policy of recruiting young, talented and experienced professionals from the industry," says Gautier. Adds N.V. Swaminathan, CEO, FamilyCredit: "Our state-of-the-art technology will ensure that every consumer finance application is processed online and disbursements are made in the shortest possible time. We will certainly benefit from the proprietary it tools of SGCF. Our endeavour is to connect with our target group emotionally."