Bank of America has agreed to acquire up to a 49.9% stake in Jio Credit Limited through a joint venture, investing $1.9 billion in the Indian digital lending platform controlled by Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services Limited.
The transaction involves an initial 26.5% stake with the remainder exercisable through warrants. Jio Credit offers unsecured consumer loans and credit products to Indian borrowers through a digital-first platform. The investment marks a significant entry for BofA into India's consumer lending market, where digital credit platforms have expanded rapidly over the past five years.
The joint venture agreement establishes governance protections and operational oversight for the U.S. bank alongside Jio Financial Services. Bank of America becomes the largest external shareholder in Jio Credit, which operates as a non-bank financial company licensed by India's Reserve Bank. The platform reported serving millions of customers across India's major metropolitan areas as of the announcement in August 2026.
The $1.9 billion valuation reflects the competitive intensity around digital lending in India, where platforms including Cibil, BorrowMe, and Navi have secured foreign institutional backing over the past three years. Jio Credit's parent company, Jio Financial Services, is itself majority-owned by Reliance Industries, one of India's largest conglomerates with assets exceeding $200 billion. Reliance has used Jio Financial Services as the vehicle for its fintech expansion, bundling credit offerings with retail and telecommunications operations.
Bank of America's entry into a joint control structure with Jio Financial Services must comply with India's foreign direct investment rules for financial services. The RBI limits single foreign investors to 26% ownership in a non-bank lender absent regulatory approval for higher stakes. BofA's warrant structure commits to eventual 49.9% ownership and requires the bank to work through India's approval frameworks over time.
The deal size positions this as one of the largest recent bets by a U.S. money center bank on an Indian fintech platform. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citigroup have each made selective investments in Indian fintechs, but typically in lower-ticket venture rounds or minority positions. BofA's $1.9 billion commitment and path to near-equal control status represents a different strategic intent.
Bank of America will need RBI approval for any ownership stake above 26%, a process that typically takes four to eight months. The warrant exercise timeline and any regulatory conditions governing the escalation to 49.9% control will shape the speed of BofA's actual capital deployment and operational integration with Jio Credit's lending and underwriting infrastructure.
