Bank of India

Bank of India is a public sector bank founded in 1906 and headquartered in Mumbai. It operates 5,447 branches, with total assets of approximately Rs 1,120,713.40 crore on the latest published figures.

Bank of India dates from 1906 and operates 5,447 branches with total assets of about Rs 11.2 lakh crore. It holds a long-established presence in western India alongside a meaningful overseas network, and it is a mid-sized player by public sector standards: large enough to underwrite a substantial CGSS facility, without the layered escalation of the very largest banks.

Its role in the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups. Bank of India is one of 40 institutions registered with the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company as a CGSS Member Institution (NCGTC MLI ID 3, classified as a public sector bank). Member Institutions are the lenders that actually extend credit under the scheme: you borrow from Bank of India, and NCGTC guarantees Bank of India against your default. That guarantee is what allows the facility to be extended to a DPIIT-recognised startup without collateral, with cover of up to Rs 20 crore per borrower, being 85 percent of the amount in default on loans up to Rs 10 crore and 75 percent above that.

What this means in practice. That middle position can work in a founder's favour on a facility in the Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore range, which is often too large for a small branch and too small to command attention at a very large one. Ask for the MSME desk and name the scheme.

The terms are the bank's, not the scheme's. This is the point founders most often miss. CGSS fixes the guarantee, not the loan. The interest rate, tenure, moratorium, repayment schedule and how the Annual Guarantee Fee is passed through to you are all set by Bank of India under its own credit policy, and they differ materially between Member Institutions for an identical borrower. Nor does registration oblige Bank of India to lend: it appraises you on its normal credit standards first and applies the guarantee second. Approaching more than one Member Institution is almost always worth the effort.