Search results: NBFC

Recognising the contribution of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to the banking system and the need to review the existing regulatory framework due to their changing risk profile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in...

In October 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a scale-based regulatory framework for non-banking financial companies (NBFC) to tackle systemic risks posed by the sector. Continuing its steady march forward in aligning...

In recognition of the systemic importance of non-banking financial companies (NBFC) in credit delivery and their integration into the financial sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued directions on 15 November requiring NBFCs...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification on 12 February 2021 further restricting investments in non-banking financial companies (NBFC) from jurisdictions, which are on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) black list...

Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have grown rapidly, and are increasingly interconnected to capital markets and other components of the financial system. The dominance of NBFCs in the fintech space and the reliance that retail...

With the introduction of a codified law on insolvency and bankruptcy processes, restructuring jurisprudence entered a new era. While the new law focused on rehabilitating and restructuring stressed companies, restructuring processes involving financial service...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification on 15 February 2019 merging asset finance companies, loan companies, and investment companies into a new category called non-banking finance company - investment and credit...

To reduce the burden on banks for financing infrastructure projects, and to promote the use of the corporate bond market for this purpose, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to provide partial...

Outsourcing has become increasingly complex. The world over, laws and regulatory frameworks have been put in place to permit execution and management to take place outside, while ensuring that the key risks and responsibilities...

The Reserve Bank of India, through a circular dated 2 June, has permitted non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to refinance infrastructure and other project loans by way of take-out financing without a predetermined agreement with...

The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI), provides certain measures for recovery of non-performing assets to “financial institutions” as defined under section 2(1)(m) of SARFAESI. The...

The Indian banking sector has witnessed a paradigm shift in the past decade. Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have played a pivotal role in providing an array of financial services and innovative products, and have...

The global financial crisis sharply brought into light the role of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and the relative ease for “shadow banking” entities in India to conduct the business of lending. For instance, unlike...

The Reserve Bank of India issued a new set of norms for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) through a circular dated 10 November. The changes, which aim to increase transparency and improve compliance, come three years...

The Reserve Bank of India, through a circular dated 6 June, has relaxed provisions relating to the pledge of equity shares (listed on a recognized stock exchange in India) held by non-resident shareholders in...

Following a notification on 26 May, it is now mandatory for companies to obtain prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for any acquisition or transfer of control in any non-banking financial...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), through a circular dated 27 June and a clarification on 2 July, has imposed certain restrictions on the issue of debt securities by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) created a new category of non-banking financial company (NBFC) known as non-banking financial company-micro finance institution (NBFC-MFI) through a circular on 2 December 2011 (circular 1). After receiving...

India’s Future Group announced that it will divest its 53.67% stake in Future Capital Holdings to Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm. Future Group operates some of India’s major retail chains through its flagship operation,...

Until recently, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) were less-stringently regulated than banks by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and were thus considered an arbitrage boon in disguise by the financial services sector. NBFCs became...

Recognising and rewarding exceptional legal work. Katherine Abraham reports India’s legal industry is experiencing a surge in activity, driven by increased deal-flow and record-breaking IPOs. While the most recognised law firms continue to dominate on...

Raghavan Ramabadran, Bharathi Krishnaprasad and Sahana Rajkumar of tax specialist law firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan discuss the significant amendments proposed in the budget Apart from laying out the broad plans of the government in respect...

India’s digital lending industry, which is expected to grow in worth to USD1.3 trillion by the end of the decade, has been subject to a clampdown by the central bank. The Reserve Bank of...

On June 20, 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued directions to all non-bank prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers that loading of PPIs through credit lines was not permitted (PPI credit circular). This...

To align the regulatory framework for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with mainstream governance practices, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a scale-based regulatory framework for NBFCs in October 2021. This included governance-related requirements. The...

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Microfinance regulation has previously focused on non-banking financial companies – microfinance institutions (NBFC – MFI), and not on other entities engaged in microfinance such as banks and other NBFCs. The Reserve Bank of India...

Reserve Bank of India's move to allow fintech companies to access credit information via credit bureaus is a positive move, but ownership and control issues remain unresolved, writes Kaushal Mathpal A s per the Reserve Bank...

Amit Kapur and Vivek Chandy are re-elected joint managing partners of JSA for another three-year term. The firm reconstituted its executive committee with Kapur, Dina Wadia, Rupinder Malik, Varghese Thomas and Chandy as the members....

Factoring is considered an important source of short-term and working capital financing for micro, small and medium enterprises. It enables them to obtain upfront credit for invoices raised, without over-leveraging balance sheets. Factoring is...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been gradually aligning the regulations applicable to banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Apart from implicitly recognising that NBFCs are fast narrowing the gap with banks in...

Digital lending in India has grown exponentially over the past 24 months powered by lending partnerships between fintech platforms and regulated lenders. A key driver has been non-traditional credit analytics that rely on alternative...

In-house Counsel Awards 2022 India Business Law Journal reveals the country’s leading in-house counsel and corporate legal teams in our very first awards. Gautam Kagalwala reports Individual AwardsTeam Awards For the inaugural India Business Law Journal In-house...

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) comprehensive regulatory framework for microfinance prescribes requirements such as the nature of borrowers, maximum disbursement amounts and ceilings on interest rates and other charges. However, this framework applies...

On 15 January 2021, the Delhi High Court directed the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to respond to a writ petition filed by Dharanidhar Karimojji (petition) seeking the regulation of digital...

Acting on its deserved reputation for hawk-eyed vigilance, in April 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to refrain from making dividend payouts for the financial year ending 31 March 2020. This...

Section 185 of the Companies Act, 2013 (act), governs transactions involving loans or the provision of guarantees or securities to companies in which a director is interested. Certain loans and guarantee or security transactions...

The pandemic and ensuing economic crisis have disproportionately impacted micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). A large number of them face dire operational and financial constraints including a shortage of working capital, difficulty in...

Housing finance companies (HFCs) have traditionally occupied a staid corner of the financial sector, providing loans to homeowners and for the development of the housing industry. As a sector, housing finance has also been...

The infrastructure sector is critical to India’s development. Financing in infrastructure is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years, particularly as India needs to spend about US$1.4 trillion on infrastructure if it...

Taking stock of the relief measures deployed by regulators to soften the impact of the lockdown. Gautam Kagalwala reports With the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has been fighting on two fronts. It has introduced a...

Argus Partners advised a Garden Silk Mills (GSML) consortium of lenders, led by Bank of Baroda, on the resolution of its stressed assets and account under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) circular dated...

Until recently, proceeds of external commercial borrowings (ECB) were not allowed to be used for working capital or general corporate purposes, or for the repayment of rupee loans, except where an ECB with a...

Fintech players are now offering the Aadhaar-based know your customer (KYC) authentication services (Aadhaar e-KYC) made available by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to customers quickly and at a fraction of the...

Communication of any relaxation in lending rates is one of the cornerstones of the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). One reason for this is that unless the benefit of any...

Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority chief Gautam Chatterjee talks to Gautam Kagalawala about the role of the regulator, challenges, friction with IBC and other regulations and stress in the state’s realty sector The government introduced...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a revised framework for resolution of stressed assets after the Supreme Court struck down its 12 February 2018 circular. The Framework for Resolution of Stressed Accounts (FRESA)...

Dear Editor, The evolution of FinTech is changing the world of finance rapidly. Peer to peer (P2P) lending, a part of the alternate credit bandwagon, takes advantage of the various limitations of traditional banks and...

Indian companies looking to raise debt overseas have typically had to do so through external commercial borrowings (ECB). ECB can take the form of loans, foreign currency convertible or exchangeable bonds, fixed or floating...

To improve the ease of doing business, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with Government of India, notified a new framework for external commercial borrowings (ECB) on 16 January 2019. The new...

Recognizing that infrastructure is the bone marrow of any economy, the Indian government has budgeted approximately US$90 billion towards the infrastructure sector for the fiscal year 2018-19. This sector, however, has some of the...

The launch of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – a government scheme targeting housing for all by 2022 – has led to a shift of focus from the luxury segment to affordable housing. Other factors...

TATA CHEMICALS ACQUISITION Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co advised Tata Chemicals on its ₹1.2 billion (US$18.4 million) acquisition of the precipitated silica business of Allied Silica Limited (ASL) on a slump sale basis. The firm’s general...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Non-Banking Financial Company – Peer to Peer Lending Platform (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2017, on 4 October. By way of these master directions, the RBI has brought peer...

How private is information provided to a banker? Mohit Shukla describes and analyses the existing norms Every day, people routinely provide personal information of various types and with varying degrees of sensitivity to banks, insurance agents and...

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Implementing the change announced in India’s budget for 2016-17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 9 September liberalized the norms for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the financial services sector. The effect is...

Its monetary policy statement for 2014-15 on 1 April 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it would work on a framework for granting licences “on tap” to universal banks, and for...

The online industry and e-commerce have acted as a game-changer, affecting the nature and dynamic of sectors including transportation, retail, hospitality, etc. It is now perhaps set to do the same to the financial...

A country’s economy has a direct correlation with the performance of companies and accessibility to funds. Accordingly, poor performance by companies leads to difficulties in servicing debt and/or accessing additional debt (thereby overleveraging) and...

Ipsita Dutta takes a look at clarifications issued by financial regulators and how to pre-empt the risks they pose The Indian financial sector has seen a steady rise in the number and scope of regulations,...

The assignment of debt by banks and other financial institutions has become quite common. Bombay High Court recently adjudicated upon an interesting aspect of law in relation to one such assignment in the case...

On 1 October, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular dealing with regulatory restrictions concerning overseas investments by alternative investment funds (AIFs) and venture capital funds (VCFs) which are registered...

The “Framework for Revitalising Distressed Assets in the Economy”, issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 30 January 2014, requires banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to identify stress in their loan...

With the growing integration of India into the global economy and with the sheer size of the Indian economy, the country’s budget speech has become a keenly anticipated event. Rating agencies, multinational companies and...

“Banks and financial institutions at present face considerable difficulties in recovery of dues from the clients and enforcement of security charged to them due to the delays in the legal processes.” Taking into account the...

Dismissing a complaint in Muthoot Mercantile Ltd v State Bank of India & Ors, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) held that “parallel behaviour needs to be substantiated with the additional evidence” when allegations of...

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Six prominent figures from India’s in-house counsel community share their views on the legal developments that will shape domestic and international business in the coming year The Indian economy is expected to witness accelerated growth...

A report on trends in the banking sector issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 November 2013 put gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of scheduled commercial banks at 3.6% of the gross...

The International Monetary Fund recently stated that Indian corporate entities are among the highest leveraged entities in the Asia Pacific region. Recent data show that non-performing assets (NPAs) have risen alarmingly from 2.2% to...

India’s regulatory framework has been uncharitably, if accurately, described as an accumulation of responses to crises, replete with turf squabbles and blind spots, rather than a comprehensive system of parts with a unified purpose. The...

India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) makes policy pronouncements on foreign direct investment (FDI) through press notes and press releases which are notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from time...

The The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently issued guidelines on the licensing of new banks in the private sector and invited applications by 1 July 2013. While the guidelines have been on the...

On 22 February the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the Guidelines for Licensing of New Banks in the Private Sector, paving the way for new private sector banks to obtain licences. The guidelines...

On 10 April the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) released a revised version of the consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy through circular 1 of 2012. The new FDI policy subsumes the...

Effective management of working capital is critical to any business enterprise. By receiving funds advanced against invoices, factoring enables a business to free up capital without the need to offer any collateral. Factors also...

Factoring is the assignment of certain debts owed (receivables), for a price, by a person (assignor) to whom the receivables are owed, in favour of a third party (assignee). A much favoured means of...

In a welcome move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended its surveillance over loans given by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to the micro finance sector by issuing directions for a new category...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased restrictions on investments in debt securities to allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest in non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and bonds issued by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). This...

The recently issued draft Microfinance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, offers a ray of hope for India’s crisis stricken microfinance institutions (MFIs). Over the last couple of years, the industry has been in...

On 31 March, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, issued circular 1 of 2011. It reflects the policy framework on foreign direct investment (FDI) in India as...

Everstone Capital Management has joined hands with the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs and UK-based investment manager Ashmore to launch a non-banking finance company (NBFC), which will be known as Indostar Capital Finance. Indostar...

India Business Law Journal showcases 50 of the most significant transactions, court cases and IP enforcement actions of 2010 and reveals the law firms that guided them George W Russell reports The international financial crash that...

Microfinance is not quite so micro anymore and, as the potential to book profits from it grows, so does its potential for scandal. It is the latter that has prompted a scramble to regulate...

On 1 October, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion issued a new circular on foreign direct investment (FDI) policy. Circular 2 of 2010 clarifies the following points: The manufacturing of “cigars, cheroots, cigarillos...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recognized the importance of corporate deposits for meeting the capital requirements of companies in need of finance. In a circular dated 23 June, the RBI has prescribed directions...

India’s micro financiers have struck gold while reaching out to the poor and vulnerable Alfred Romann reports By most definitions Bihar is one of the toughest places in India to do business. The state is unstable and...

As a fall out of the credit crisis, regulators and governments globally are introspecting on every aspect of financial services regulation – be it policy formulation, administration, implementation or enforcement. The UK has gone as...

In a move designed to provide continued support and deepen access to credit for the infrastructure sector, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has through a series of circulars issued on 2 March, introduced...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) classifies non-banking financial companies (NBFC) into three categories: asset finance companies, loan companies and investment companies. All three types of NBFC are expected to maintain a minimum capital...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made significant amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing or Lending in Foreign Exchange) Regulations, 2000, which govern policies relating to external commercial borrowings (ECB). The changes, which...

The recent increase in liquidity and availability of capital in the economy has prompted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to change its policy on external commercial borrowings (ECBs), reverting to the pre-credit crunch...

External commercial borrowing (ECB) can take several forms: bank loans; buyers’ credit; suppliers’ credit; securitized instruments; credit from official export credit agencies and international capital markets; and commercial borrowings from multilateral financial institutions, such...

India is implementing regulatory changes to tackle the credit crunch. How will the moves help cash-strapped corporations restructure their debt portfolios and access new sources of funding? Karan Singh and Ameya Khandge report India escaped the...

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through various policy measures has sought to promote small-ticket lending (primarily through priority sector lending stipulations). Some of these measures overlap with what is now known as microfinance. The...

India’s banking sector is on the verge of a second wave of liberalization. Coming amid a global financial crisis, how will domestic and international banks – and their legal advisers – respond to the challenge? Barney...

Historically there have been restrictions on financing by banks. Presently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has capped banks’ credit exposure limits at 15% of their capital funds, in the case of a single...

One of the means of raising finances is by the absolute assignment of receivables (along with underlying securities) from an obligor to an assignor or originator, that are structured as bankruptcy remote from the...

The budget India’s latest budget, unveiled by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 29 February, includes a number of tax provisions that impact businesses and individuals. The budget had been expected to include significant changes to the...

The non-banking financial companies (NBFC) sector, which grew rapidly in the early 1990s but later witnessed a turbulent period, has been in a phase of consolidation during the last two years. The main reasons for...