CRIF India Launches Chennai Chapter of “Credit Goes to HER”
CRIF India, a member of the global CRIF network, announced the launch of the Chennai chapter of its flagship community initiative “Credit Goes to HER”. The programme is designed to empower women professionals across the credit and financial services ecosystem, providing a platform for networking, mentorship, and knowledge sharing among women in banking, NBFCs, fintech, analytics, risk, and policy. This launch follows the earlier inauguration of the Kolkata chapter, marking the initiative’s continued regional expansion.
Tamil Tamil Nadu was selected for the new chapter because of its diversified financial services landscape, vibrant fintech ecosystem, and growing status as a hub for banking, housing finance, micro‑finance, and technology‑driven lending institutions. As of March 2026, the state’s retail credit portfolio stood at ₹19.1 lakh crore, reflecting a 21.1% year‑on‑year increase. The women‑borrower segment contributed ₹7.2 lakh crore, growing 25.5% YoY, thereby outpacing the overall market. Gold‑loan disbursements rose 45.3% YoY, business‑lending expanded 17.6% YoY, and the portfolio at‑risk (PAR) metric improved to 2.9%, indicating healthier credit behaviour.
The Chennai launch event featured prominent women leaders from the BFSI ecosystem: Gayathri Parthasarathy, Advisor to the Chairman at PwC, moderated the session; Sharon Buteau, Executive Director of LEAD at Krea University, participated as a speaker; Srimathy Sridhar, former Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank and Independent Director for Karur Vysya Bank, IDBI Capital Markets & Nabfins, shared insights; Kalpana Sankar, former MD & CEO of Belstar Microfinance and current MD & CEO of Varashakti Housing Finance, addressed the audience; and Gowri T Mukherjee, Co‑Founder of CreditMantri, delivered the keynote address. A data‑insights session highlighted emerging trends in credit and the growing participation of women in the financial ecosystem.
CRIF India described itself as a leading provider of credit information, business intelligence, analytics, software, and digital solutions serving banks, financial institutions, NBFCs, insurance companies, telecom providers, MSMEs, corporates, and consumers across India. Its group entities include CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services Private Limited and CRIF Solutions. The company is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005, and operates one of India’s premier credit bureaus with data contributions from over 5,000 member institutions.
Through the “Credit Goes to HER” platform, CRIF India reaffirms its commitment to building stronger communities, promoting women’s leadership, and expanding opportunities for women to shape the future of credit in India.