Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank is a public sector bank founded in 1937 and headquartered in Chennai. It operates 3,438 branches, with total assets of approximately Rs 447,541.62 crore on the latest published figures.

Indian Overseas Bank was founded in 1937 with an explicit focus on overseas banking and foreign exchange business, and that orientation still shapes it. It operates 3,438 branches from its Chennai headquarters with total assets of roughly Rs 4.48 lakh crore, making it one of the smaller public sector lenders by balance sheet.

Its role in the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups. Indian Overseas Bank is one of 40 institutions registered with the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company as a CGSS Member Institution (NCGTC MLI ID 44, classified as a public sector bank). Member Institutions are the lenders that actually extend credit under the scheme: you borrow from Indian Overseas Bank, and NCGTC guarantees Indian Overseas Bank 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. The foreign exchange heritage is the practical angle: a startup with export receivables or import payables may find IOB more comfortable with that side of the business than a comparably sized peer. On facility size, calibrate expectations to its balance sheet rather than assuming public sector means unlimited capacity.

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 Indian Overseas Bank under its own credit policy, and they differ materially between Member Institutions for an identical borrower. Nor does registration oblige Indian Overseas Bank 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.