India’s central bank took steps to alleviate a credit crunch at shadow banks and relaxed rules for lending to consumers as part of measures to boost the slowing economy, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank of India, which also cut benchmark interest rates to the lowest since 2010 on Wednesday, increased the exposure limit for banks to a single non-banking finance company to 20% of Tier 1 capital from 15% before. It also reduced the risk weight on consumer credit excluding card receivables to 100% from about 125%.
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India’s debt-laden shadow bank Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) on Tuesday said its creditors would not have to take any haircuts on principal payments under its resolution plan, sending shares up as much as 10%, Reuters reported. As part of the resolution plan, DHFL will also put a moratorium on repayments and seek funding from banks to start retail lending, the company said here after a meeting of the special committee for resolution plan.
Despite numerous tweaks to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the government is worried over the low number of resolutions as well as delays during the admission stage itself, The New Indian Express reported. Officials pointed out that out of 1,292 ongoing resolution processes, 445 cases have passed 270 days since admission, while another 221 cases have crossed 180 days. In fact, most of the cases have been lingering on, despite near-resolution in some cases. Take the case of Essar Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel.
Deloitte has resigned as auditor of an embattled non-bank lender in India, marking the latest in a series of resignations that come as New Delhi is putting the Big Four auditor firms under scrutiny, the Financial Times reported. In a statement posted to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited said Deloitte had stepped down “with immediate effect” after raising concerns about intercorporate deposits and lack of transparency. Deloitte confirmed that it had resigned the DHFL contract but would not comment further.
Bondholders of troubled shadow lender Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) have been given a three-week deadline to decide if they are on board with a rescue plan being evaluated by banks, according to a letter sent by a custodian of DHFL bonds, seen by Reuters. The banks have signed an inter-creditor agreement (ICA) to come up with a plan to restructure nearly 1 trillion rupees ($14 billion) of DHFL’s debt, Reuters reported. Now, the bondholders have to communicate by letter by Aug. 26 if they are willing to be part of the ICA.
Sudhir Gharpure and his sales team sat chatting at a big Maruti Suzuki dealership on the outskirts of Mumbai some two hours after its doors were opened on a recent Saturday morning - not a single customer was in sight, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. "There used to be close to 15-20 bookings each day, but now we're down to 3-5 on good days," said Gharpure, the general manager at the dealership. Gharpure's experience is not an isolated one.
India’s Jet Airways has extended the deadline for initial bids for the bankrupt airline to Aug. 10 from Aug. 3, a statement from the company said on Saturday, Reuters reported. Jet, once ranked among the country’s biggest airlines, was forced to ground all flights in April after running out of money and failing to secure funds, crippled by mounting losses as it attempted to compete with low-cost rivals. The bid submission deadline has been extended at the request of some prospective bidders, it said.
The resolution plan of one of India’s biggest shadow banking firms, Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), may be delayed as its creditor DSP Mutual Fund has initiated legal proceedings against it, two banking sources told Reuters. DHFL ran into trouble late last year as cracks in the shadow banking system in India began to emerge after the near collapse of another financial firm, IL&FS, stoking fears of a broader contagion, Reuters reported. In July, DHFL said it was “undergoing substantial financial stress” and may not survive as a going concern.
Shares of a rating company that failed to foresee signs of stress at the now-bankrupt IL&FS group nosedived after reporting the lowest quarterly profit since its trading debut in 2012, Bloomberg News reported. Care Ratings Ltd. plummeted by 20% to a record low of 486.70 rupees at 12:53 pm trading in Mumbai on Friday, extending a similar-sized drop the previous day. The sharpest drop in the shares on record comes after the company reported its lowest quarterly results since listing in 2012. Care and another Indian rater ICRA Ltd.
Malvern Group has appointed KPMG as an administrator for its travel businesses, including Super Break and LateRooms, a day after shutting them down as one of its main shareholders defaulted on debt repayments, the audit firm said on Friday, Reuters reported. Malvern Group is partly owned by Indian tour operator Cox & Kings Ltd, which is under severe financial stress and has defaulted on debt repayments. Malvern Group’s website said forthcoming bookings had been cancelled, while customers currently on tours may be asked to pay again by the hotels.