Jio Finance Offers Consumers Loan Against Securities

On April 8, Jio Finance, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) division of Jio Financial Services, announced that it has begun offering its clients a fully digitalised loan against securities (LAS) product. Jio Finance customers can now get loans up to INR 1 crore with interest rates as low as 9.99%, depending on their risk tolerance. On the National Stock Exchange, Jio Financial Services' shares surged by almost 6%, closing at INR 225.49 on April 8. Customers may conveniently access short-term funds while maintaining the growth of their long-term investments, according to the company's press release.

Details of LAS

With the help of LAS, a secured lending product, clients may use their investments, including stocks and mutual funds, to obtain loans at reasonable interest rates in as little as 10 minutes via an entirely digital process. The introduction of LAS is a component of Jio Finance's overall digital strategy. This step aims to revolutionise how consumers access and engage with financial services, according to Kusal Roy, managing director and chief executive officer. This launch is an important milestone in the company's goal to make financial services more customer-centric, efficient, and accessible, with a strong emphasis on innovation and user experience, Roy added.

Via its app, Jio Finance provides corporate funding, residential loans, and loans secured by real estate. Additionally, the app provides financial services like money transfers, savings accounts, digital gold, insurance, investment portfolio management, and universal payments interface (UPI) transactions.

Around 1100 Employees Would be Let Off

Over 1,100 employees will be let go by JioStar as the newly established joint venture between Viacom18 of Reliance Industries Ltd. and the India division of The Walt Disney Co. eliminates overlapping responsibilities as a result of the merger. According to media reports, the departures began a month ago and are not going to stop anytime soon. "The layoffs are scheduled to last until June. Corporate positions in the distribution, finance, commercial, and legal departments are the main targets of the job layoffs. Entry-level workers, senior managers, senior directors, and even assistant vice presidents are among those being laid off. Due to the Champions Trophy, Women's Premier League (WPL), and Indian Premier League (IPL) being held back-to-back, sports have not changed as of yet. There have been notable layoffs at a number of regional entertainment channels, such as Colours Bangla and Colours Kannada.

The largest media firm in India was formed by the merging of Viacom18 and Disney's Star India. JioStar is combining companies to increase efficiency and concentrate on high-growth verticals, including digital streaming and sports. Redundancies are unavoidable whenever two sizable enterprises with comparable operations combine, according to experts and industry observers.