India's asset-backed securities market has surged to a record as global banks ramp up purchases to gain exposure to one of the world's fastest-growing major economies. Foreign banks' share in total issuance grew to about 35% in the year ended March, from 28% to 30% in each of the preceding two fiscal years, according to Krishnan Sitaraman, chief ratings officer at Crisil Ratings. Based on the total asset-backed debt sales of 1.53 trillion rupees ($16 billion) in the year ended March, that translates into roughly $5.6 billion of purchases by overseas lenders. Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Chartered Plc are among foreign lenders to have stepped up investments in such debt, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.