Wadia Ghandy has guided Kotak Mahindra on its acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s personal loan business in India for $490 million, with Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advising Standard Chartered. 

India's personal loan market has become intensely competitive amid strong consumer demand. Last November, the central bank asked lenders to set aside more capital for such loans on concerns that soaring demand could lead to higher risk, Reuters reported. 

"Our decision to divest the personal loan book is in line with the bank's focus to accelerate growth in the wealth, affluent and SME (small and medium enterprises) segment," said Aditya Mandloi, Standard Chartered Bank's head of wealth and retail banking for India and South Asia, in a statement. 

Wadia Ghandy’s team was led by deputy managing partner Nihas Basheer and partner Palak Sinha. Managing partner Shabnum Kajiji gave strategic inputs, while associate Mekha Vijaykumar assisted on the transaction. 

The CAM transaction team was led by partner Jian Johnson with support from senior associate Diptiman Mohapatra, and associate Medha Puvvala. Partners Leena Chacko, Avaantika Kakkar,  and Dhruv Rajain assisted on the deal.