CRED Appoints B Sriram As An Independent Director

SUMMARY

Sriram has an experience of over 40 years in banking, finance and technology and will guide CRED on its long-term strategy, growth plans, and execution roadmap

Earlier, Sriram served as the managing director of the State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

The development comes at a time when the fintech unicorn has been on a spree of new launches and is now trying to expand its lending play

Fintech unicorn CRED on Wednesday (July 5) said it has appointed financial services industry veteran B Sriram as an independent director on its board.

Sriram comes with an experience of over 40 years in domains such as banking, finance and technology. He will play a vital role in providing guidance and counsel for CRED’s long-term strategy, growth plans, and execution roadmap, the Kunal Shah-led company said in a statement.

The development comes at a time when CRED has been on a spree of new launches and is now trying to expand its lending play.

Sriram is expected to help the company in strengthening its fintech offerings. Earlier, he served as the managing director of the State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur. He has also held board positions at various subsidiaries of SBI, including SBI Life Insurance, SBI General Insurance, SBI DFHI, SBI Global Factors, SBICap Securities, and SBI Cards & Payment Services.

Currently, he is also an independent director on the boards of ICICI Bank, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, TVS Credit Services, TVS Motor Company, TVS SCS Singapore, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Nippon Life India Asset Management and IndiaIdeas.com.

Commenting on the appointment, CRED founder and CEO Shah said, “I am delighted to welcome Mr. Sriram to our board as we scale and prepare for our next growth phase. His domain expertise in the financial sector will be invaluable for us as we innovate and build products for the top 10% of Indians.”

CRED’S Expansion Plans

CRED has raised over $920 Mn from investors such as GIC, Tiger Global, and Alpha Wave since its founding. It is valued at nearly $6.4 Bn currently.

Having established the brand in the fintech market and armed with a large customer base, the startup has been announcing its entry into new segments over the last few months.

Last October, it launched the Scan & Pay UPI product. In February this year, it also forayed into the BNPL space. Soon after, it entered the luxury travel space with CRED escapes.

All these launches are aimed at increasing the revenue of the startup amid increasing competition and funding winter. Despite this, CRED’s loss continues to rise. In FY22, the startup reported a 2.4X year-on-year jump in net loss to INR 1,279 Cr, while operating revenue rose 4.4X to INR 393.5 Cr.

Last month, CRED also acquihired Y Combinator-backed micro-savings platform Spenny.