CHENNAI: Amid reports that online marketplace Snapdeal is in preliminary talks with its rivals Paytm and Flipkart for a potential sale, State Bank of India has sent advisories to nearly 100 sellers, coming under Snapdeal’s capital-assist programme, to reduce their outstanding loans above their drawing power.
The advisory comes in the wake of a letter written by the All India Online Vendor Association to Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, raising fears that Snapdeal might default on payments to the sellers. The letter estimated that in any given month, Snapdeal holds Rs 300-400 crore in the form of outstanding dues and goods in transit or refunds.
Snapdeal had launched the capital-assist programme to make credit available for sellers in 2014, through a network of about 27 banks and financial institutions, including SBI, Axis Bank, Tata Capital and Reliance Capital.
SBI Chief General Manager (SME) G K Kansal said the bank reviews the sales position of the sellers every quarter and asks them to reduce their outstanding loans if their sales take a dip in this period.
Earlier this month, Axis Bank had issued notices to some Snapdeal sellers, seeking immediate repayment of outstanding loans and withdrawing unavailed credit, citing below-par transaction flow.
Snapdeal has struggled to deal with slowing growth, mounting losses, falling market share, and an exodus of senior executives in recent months.