Specialist in Indian Banking and Economic Research

Hemindra Hazari

Government banks have been derided for indulging in ‘phone banking’ (being instructed on the telephone by ruling party politicians and civil bureaucrats to lend to specific unworthy companies). But what the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) affidavit in the Delhi Court (as disclosed by the media -- <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/71-loans-given-in-kapoor-s-tenure-turned-bad-ed-101633976406867.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/enforcement-directorate-says-bank-loan-fraud-was-mutually-beneficial-to-avantha-yes-bank/articleshow/86699558.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>)  reveals is that senior executives from the private sector <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yes-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:767:1" rel="noopener">Yes Bank (YES IN)</a> were no different from their government counterparts. The only difference is that the concerned senior executives at Yes Bank were excessively paid, and were highly qualified persons from premier institutions, as compared with government bankers. The ED’s charge sheet alleges that senior executives at Yes Bank knowingly engaged in sham transactions, and the accused Yes Bank officials put the onus on the transactions on the now jailed Rana Kapoor, the erstwhile founder-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Yes Bank. Despite their educational qualifications, previous work experience and the senior positions they held, they allowed themselves to  be reduced to being low-paid clerks – or worse, since the latter at least know enough not to engage in fraudulent transactions. The entire edifice of Yes Bank’s credit appraisal, independent risk management and board oversight was a myth, as nobody recorded strong objections to giving loans to a shell company and structuring a product whose sole objective was a spurious show of compliance with regulatory guidelines.   Stakeholders, media and analysts rarely get to see the inner working of a bank and how loans are appraised, independently evaluated by risk management and subsequently monitored. The ED’s affidavit, as reported by the media, provides such a rare inside knowledge view of how a poor quality loan for a dubious purpose was conceived, structured and approved by an over-qualified and overpaid team, solely on the basis of instructions from the CEO. What is equally disturbing, but also telling, is that three of the accused have left the bank, and have taken up fresh engagements with their new organisations – who, presumably, were impressed with these persons’ work credentials at Yes Bank, and wanted them to continue the same practices for their new employers.What is worrying is that Yes Bank’s practice of having senior executives with impressive qualifications, stellar resumes, and imposing titles, knowingly engaging in such transactions may not be the exception in the private financial sector. Regulatory agencies have investigated or are currently investigating similar transactions at <a href="https://hemindrahazari.com/2021/06/16/cg-power-loan-scandal-indusind-bank-pioneers-lending-without-documents-to-a-firm-with-no-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indusind Bank</a>, <a href="https://hemindrahazari.com/2021/06/23/aditya-birla-finances-loans-to-a-shell-company-another-reason-why-corporates-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-control-banks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aditya Birla Finance</a>, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/corporate-governance/how-an-eur44-million-loan-from-stanchart-put-murugappas-cg-power-between-sebi-and-a-hard-place/primearticleshow/83285540.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Standard Chartered Bank</a> and <a href="https://hemindrahazari.com/2021/08/31/sebi-exposes-kotak-mahindra-mutual-funds-policy-of-investing-blindly/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund</a>. This indicates that the situation may be systemic. It appears that, for all their experience and seniority, key senior executives in the private financial sector are paid inflated packages precisely for engaging in the intellectually undemanding task of ‘phone banking’. The valuations of private financial firms may need to be reassessed in the light of these disclosures.

Government banks have been derided for indulging in ‘phone banking’ (being instructed on the telephone by ruling party politicians and civil bureaucrats to lend to specific unworthy companies). But what the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) affidavit in the Delhi Court (as disclosed by the media -- here and here)  reveals is that senior executives from the private sector Yes Bank (YES IN) were no different from their government counterparts. The only difference is that the concerned senior executives at Yes Bank were excessively paid, and were highly qualified persons from premier institutions, as compared with government bankers. The ED’s charge sheet alleges that senior executives at Yes Bank knowingly engaged in sham transactions, and the accused Yes Bank officials put the onus on the transactions on the now jailed Rana Kapoor, the erstwhile founder-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Yes Bank. Despite their educational qualifications, previous work experience and the senior positions they held, they allowed themselves to  be reduced to being low-paid clerks – or worse, since the latter at least know enough not to engage in fraudulent transactions. The entire edifice of Yes Bank’s credit appraisal, independent risk management and board oversight was a myth, as nobody recorded strong objections to giving loans to a shell company and structuring a product whose sole objective was a spurious show of compliance with regulatory guidelines.   Stakeholders, media and analysts rarely get to see the inner working of a bank and how loans are appraised, independently evaluated by risk management and subsequently monitored. The ED’s affidavit, as reported by the media, provides such a rare inside knowledge view of how a poor quality loan for a dubious purpose was conceived, structured and approved by an over-qualified and overpaid team, solely on the basis of instructions from the CEO. What is equally disturbing, but also telling, is that three of the accused have left the bank, and have taken up fresh engagements with their new organisations – who, presumably, were impressed with these persons’ work credentials at Yes Bank, and wanted them to continue the same practices for their new employers.What is worrying is that Yes Bank’s practice of having senior executives with impressive qualifications, stellar resumes, and imposing titles, knowingly engaging in such transactions may not be the exception in the private financial sector. Regulatory agencies have investigated or are currently investigating similar transactions at Indusind Bank, Aditya Birla Finance, Standard Chartered Bank and Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund. This indicates that the situation may be systemic. It appears that, for all their experience and seniority, key senior executives in the private financial sector are paid inflated packages precisely for engaging in the intellectually undemanding task of ‘phone banking’. The valuations of private financial firms may need to be reassessed in the light of these disclosures.

Yes Men at Yes Bank, and Elsewhere: ‘Phone Banking’ in the Private Sector

The ET Prime 3-part series based on the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) show cause notices to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/corporate-governance/how-an-eur44-million-loan-from-stanchart-put-murugappas-cg-power-between-sebi-and-a-hard-place/primearticleshow/83285540.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Standard Chartered Bank</a>, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/corporate-governance/how-a-usd40-million-loan-to-cg-power-arm-in-gift-city-put-indusind-bank-under-sebi-glare/primearticleshow/83342665.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indusind Bank</a>  and <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/corporate-governance/sebi-slaps-show-cause-on-aditya-birla-finance-for-realty-loans-to-a-shell-firm-to-help-thapars/primearticleshow/83518285.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aditya Birla Finance</a> highlighted the manner in which these institutions allegedly ‘evergreened’ their exposure and shifted their loans from the unlisted Thapar group entities to the listed CG Power and Industrial Solutions (CG Power) in 2017-2018. These transactions, if proven, would demonstrate the misuse of their banking and non-bank finance company license In all three cases a similar structure (see Annexure) was adopted: transactions were layered by providing loans to a shell company, thus eventually shifting liabilities from founder/promoter unlisted companies to CG Power and Industrial Solutions (CG Power), a publicly listed company. Obviously, this adversely affects the minority shareholders of CG Power.The modus operandi of providing foreign exchange loans to a foreign subsidiary of an Indian company to repay rupee loans of the parent, thereby ‘evergreening’ the loan, was not new. This analyst had first highlighted it in a research note in August 2012, when he was Head of Research and banking analyst with a sell-side firm. The dubious practice in these cases by the mentioned entities, apart from alleged ‘evergreening’, was the use of this route to shift liabilities from an unlisted company to a listed company. The ET Prime scoop has perhaps for the first time made public documentary proof of specific cases of the money trail and of routing funds through various companies to achieve the objective.The purpose of lending in foreign exchange to a foreign subsidiary of a domestic company, and layering the transactions through various companies, was to confuse auditors and regulators, and to hide the objective of the end-use of the loans. The brazenness of these transactions (transferring the funds to other companies within the same day or in a few days) and the possible violation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) <a href="https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/15MDC8CEB9A7BDE64745B9BE1DCEC3293CA1.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">norms</a> for the end-use of external commercial borrowings indicate that these banks believed the regulators would not catch them, and it is therefore possible that it was a common practice.That these transactions were systemic, with a top-down approach, and not the work of ‘rogue’ employees, is visible in the fact that these dubious loans were cleared by the risk department and key divisional heads at Indusind Bank and Aditya Birla Finance, far from being punished for structuring the loans, were rewarded through promotions (<a href="https://hemindrahazari.com/2021/06/16/cg-power-loan-scandal-indusind-bank-pioneers-lending-without-documents-to-a-firm-with-no-assets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and <a href="https://hemindrahazari.com/2021/06/23/aditya-birla-finances-loans-to-a-shell-company-another-reason-why-corporates-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-control-banks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>) and allowed to retain their jobs. It can therefore be presumed that these transactions had also been approved by their boards of directors, and they have to be held accountable.The important fact is that the three entities targeted by SEBI are not some fly-by-night operators. Rather, they are well established banks and an NBFC belonging to the house of Aditya Birla. If this analyst in 2012 was confident to publish and inform investors about such practices, as the facts were well known within banking circles, why was the banking/NBFC regulator not taking action against senior officials? It is on account of the lack of action by the RBI that senior officials in these entities were brazenly structuring such loans in 2017-2018. Sadly, to date, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not exerted its considerable muscle to bring the key officials and the boards of directors in these institutions to account. So far the RBI has been content with levying monetary penalties on errant institutions; whereas in fact the regulator in the cases unearthed by SEBI should not only sack the key senior executives but render them unemployable in the financial sector, and also remove independent directors for their complicity. As long as the regulator mollycoddles errant senior executives and independent directors, such malpractices will continue to flourish as, understandably, the culprits have no fear of the regulator.

The ET Prime 3-part series based on the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) show cause notices to Standard Chartered Bank, Indusind Bank  and Aditya Birla Finance highlighted the manner in which these institutions allegedly ‘evergreened’ their exposure and shifted their loans from the unlisted Thapar group entities to the listed CG Power and Industrial Solutions (CG Power) in 2017-2018. These transactions, if proven, would demonstrate the misuse of their banking and non-bank finance company license In all three cases a similar structure (see Annexure) was adopted: transactions were layered by providing loans to a shell company, thus eventually shifting liabilities from founder/promoter unlisted companies to CG Power and Industrial Solutions (CG Power), a publicly listed company. Obviously, this adversely affects the minority shareholders of CG Power.The modus operandi of providing foreign exchange loans to a foreign subsidiary of an Indian company to repay rupee loans of the parent, thereby ‘evergreening’ the loan, was not new. This analyst had first highlighted it in a research note in August 2012, when he was Head of Research and banking analyst with a sell-side firm. The dubious practice in these cases by the mentioned entities, apart from alleged ‘evergreening’, was the use of this route to shift liabilities from an unlisted company to a listed company. The ET Prime scoop has perhaps for the first time made public documentary proof of specific cases of the money trail and of routing funds through various companies to achieve the objective.The purpose of lending in foreign exchange to a foreign subsidiary of a domestic company, and layering the transactions through various companies, was to confuse auditors and regulators, and to hide the objective of the end-use of the loans. The brazenness of these transactions (transferring the funds to other companies within the same day or in a few days) and the possible violation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms for the end-use of external commercial borrowings indicate that these banks believed the regulators would not catch them, and it is therefore possible that it was a common practice.That these transactions were systemic, with a top-down approach, and not the work of ‘rogue’ employees, is visible in the fact that these dubious loans were cleared by the risk department and key divisional heads at Indusind Bank and Aditya Birla Finance, far from being punished for structuring the loans, were rewarded through promotions (here and here) and allowed to retain their jobs. It can therefore be presumed that these transactions had also been approved by their boards of directors, and they have to be held accountable.The important fact is that the three entities targeted by SEBI are not some fly-by-night operators. Rather, they are well established banks and an NBFC belonging to the house of Aditya Birla. If this analyst in 2012 was confident to publish and inform investors about such practices, as the facts were well known within banking circles, why was the banking/NBFC regulator not taking action against senior officials? It is on account of the lack of action by the RBI that senior officials in these entities were brazenly structuring such loans in 2017-2018. Sadly, to date, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not exerted its considerable muscle to bring the key officials and the boards of directors in these institutions to account. So far the RBI has been content with levying monetary penalties on errant institutions; whereas in fact the regulator in the cases unearthed by SEBI should not only sack the key senior executives but render them unemployable in the financial sector, and also remove independent directors for their complicity. As long as the regulator mollycoddles errant senior executives and independent directors, such malpractices will continue to flourish as, understandably, the culprits have no fear of the regulator.   

How Diversion and Layering Became a Common Modus Operandi, While the Regulator Slept

Equity L/S Analyst | Forensic Accounting | India, Yellowstone Equity

Ankit Agrawal, CFA

Equity L/S Analyst | Forensic Accounting | India

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

RBI announced its monetary policy updates yesterday (Feb 6, 2020). While it left the interest rates unchanged, it signaled accommodative stance with a focus on supporting growth conditional upon inflation remaining within target range.
Alongside the regular monetary policy announcements, RBI announced a few pertinent policy measures to support stressed sectors like real estate, auto and MSME, which in turn is likely to have strong positive cascading effects for Indian financials.
Key Takeaway: All in all, while RBI did not cut rates, it announced several measures to boost liquidity and credit growth in the economy. Also, the signalling from RBI in terms of growth being a key priority and its focus on reviving the economy, was a strong positive. Inflation, while a concern at this point, appears to be under check as most drivers of uptick in inflation have been seasonal and unlikely to persist. Overall, RBI's policy measures bode well for reviving credit growth and liquidity availability with potential for positive knockdown effects for the overall economy. This should help Indian financials significantly across various metrics such as credit growth, NIM expansion and improvement in asset quality. We remain optimistic on the Indian financials sector, including select NBFCs and HFCs. For more details, please also refer to some of our recent coverage on Indian Financials:
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/lic-housing-finance-asset-quality-weakens-but-green-shoots-emerging" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:36257" rel="noopener">LIC Housing Finance: Asset Quality Weakens But Green Shoots Emerging</a> 
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/bajaj-finance-the-stellar-growth-streak-continues" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:36170" rel="noopener">Bajaj Finance: The Stellar Growth Streak Continues!</a> 
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/ujjivan-small-finance-bank-growth-momentum-continues-ripe-for-scaling-up" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:36122" rel="noopener">Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: Growth Momentum Continues; Ripe for Scaling Up</a>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/edelweiss-a-turnaround-idea-shifting-from-fund-based-to-fee-based-business-model" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:35488" rel="noopener">Edelweiss - A Turnaround Idea: Shifting from Fund-Based to Fee-Based Business Model</a>

RBI announced its monetary policy updates yesterday (Feb 6, 2020). While it left the interest rates unchanged, it signaled accommodative stance with a focus on supporting growth conditional upon inflation remaining within target range.
Alongside the regular monetary policy announcements, RBI announced a few pertinent policy measures to support stressed sectors like real estate, auto and MSME, which in turn is likely to have strong positive cascading effects for Indian financials.
Key Takeaway: All in all, while RBI did not cut rates, it announced several measures to boost liquidity and credit growth in the economy. Also, the signalling from RBI in terms of growth being a key priority and its focus on reviving the economy, was a strong positive. Inflation, while a concern at this point, appears to be under check as most drivers of uptick in inflation have been seasonal and unlikely to persist. Overall, RBI's policy measures bode well for reviving credit growth and liquidity availability with potential for positive knockdown effects for the overall economy. This should help Indian financials significantly across various metrics such as credit growth, NIM expansion and improvement in asset quality. We remain optimistic on the Indian financials sector, including select NBFCs and HFCs. For more details, please also refer to some of our recent coverage on Indian Financials:
LIC Housing Finance: Asset Quality Weakens But Green Shoots Emerging 
Bajaj Finance: The Stellar Growth Streak Continues! 
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: Growth Momentum Continues; Ripe for Scaling Up
Edelweiss - A Turnaround Idea: Shifting from Fund-Based to Fee-Based Business Model 

RBI Policy Update: A Boost For Indian Financials

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Index Rebalance

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company / Index Rebalance

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (ICICIAMC IN)

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/icici-prudential-amc-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:45499:1" rel="noopener">ICICI Prudential AMC (ICICIAMC IN)</a> (IPAMC) raised around US$1.2bn in its India IPO in December 2025.  The lockup on its promoters and pre-IPO shareholders is set to expire soon.</li>
<li>IPru AMC is an asset management company involved in managing mutual funds, providing portfolio management services, managing alternative investment funds, and providing advisory services to offshore clients.</li>
<li>In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.</li>
</ul>



ICICI Prudential AMC (ICICIAMC IN) (IPAMC) raised around US$1.2bn in its India IPO in December 2025.  The lockup on its promoters and pre-IPO shareholders is set to expire soon.
IPru AMC is an asset management company involved in managing mutual funds, providing portfolio management services, managing alternative investment funds, and providing advisory services to offshore clients.
In this note, we will talk about the lockup dynamics and possible placement.


Aequitas: ICICI Pru AMC Lockup Expiry - US$4.6bn Lockup Release for JV Partner

Equity Analyst - Fundamental & Thematic, Sree Capital

Sreemant Dudhoria

Equity Analyst - Fundamental & Thematic

Fundamental Research on Listed Indian Companies

Sree Capital

Sree Capital is a platform to share fundamental research on listed Indian companies. We do this research for our own investment

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we discuss about the performance of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tata-capital-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:45653:1" rel="noopener">Tata Capital Limited (TATACAP IN)</a> post its listing in October 2025.</li>
<li>We discuss details about the release of shares of the pre-ipo holders and its implications.</li>
<li>Finally, we discuss valuation, operational metrics and our view on the name.</li>
</ul>


In this insight, we discuss about the performance of Tata Capital Limited (TATACAP IN) post its listing in October 2025.
We discuss details about the release of shares of the pre-ipo holders and its implications.
Finally, we discuss valuation, operational metrics and our view on the name.


Tata Capital Pre-IPO Share Release: Still Stymied by Tata Motors Finance

India

Aditya Birla Capital Ltd (ABCL) is a non-banking financial company and the financial services flagship of the Aditya Birla Group. It offers a comprehensive suite of financial solutions, including loans, investments, insurance, and payments. The company is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and was founded in 2007.

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Aditya Birla Capital (ABCAP IN)

Yes Men at Yes Bank, and Elsewhere: ‘Phone Banking’ in the Private Sector

It appears that, for all their experience & seniority, key senior executives in the pvt financial sector are paid inflated packages precisely for...

Hemindra Hazari

How Diversion and Layering Became a Common Modus Operandi, While the Regulator Slept

As long as the regulator mollycoddles errant senior executives and independent directors, such malpractices will continue to flourish as,...

Hemindra Hazari

RBI Policy Update: A Boost For Indian Financials

RBI announced its monetary policy updates yesterday (Feb 6, 2020). While it left the interest rates unchanged, it signaled accommodative stance...

Ankit Agrawal, CFA

Aequitas: ICICI Pru AMC Lockup Expiry - US$4.6bn Lockup Release for JV Partner

ICICI Prudential AMC (ICICIAMC IN) (IPAMC) raised around US$1.2bn in its India IPO in December 2025. The lockup on its promoters and pre-IPO...

Sumeet Singh

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Yes Men at Yes Bank, and Elsewhere: ‘Phone Banking’ in the Private Sector

It appears that, for all their experience & seniority, key senior executives in the pvt financial sector are paid inflated packages precisely for...

Hemindra Hazari

How Diversion and Layering Became a Common Modus Operandi, While the Regulator Slept

As long as the regulator mollycoddles errant senior executives and independent directors, such malpractices will continue to flourish as,...

Hemindra Hazari

RBI Policy Update: A Boost For Indian Financials

RBI announced its monetary policy updates yesterday (Feb 6, 2020). While it left the interest rates unchanged, it signaled accommodative stance...

Ankit Agrawal, CFA

Aequitas: ICICI Pru AMC Lockup Expiry - US$4.6bn Lockup Release for JV Partner

ICICI Prudential AMC (ICICIAMC IN) (IPAMC) raised around US$1.2bn in its India IPO in December 2025. The lockup on its promoters and pre-IPO...

Sumeet Singh

Tata Capital Pre-IPO Share Release: Still Stymied by Tata Motors Finance

​Insight on Tata Capital Limited's performance post listing in October 2025, including details on pre-IPO share release and valuation analysis.

Sreemant Dudhoria

Insight on Tata Capital Limited's performance post listing in October 2025, including details on pre-IPO share release and valuation analysis.