Specialist in Indian Banking and Economic Research

Hemindra Hazari

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Even though non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) dedicated to providing loans against gold ornaments are highly profitable and enjoy significant net interest margins (NIMs), stakeholders should be concerned about the vulnerability of their branches to robberies. The spate of robberies indicates that thieves are specifically targeting branches because they follow inadequate security protocols for the substantial gold ornaments they hold in custody for their customers. Examining the robberies reported in the media indicates that each of the targeted branches held gold valued at a minimum of Rs 100 mn (equivalent to atleast 25 kgs of gold ornaments). The fact that a robbery of a single branch can yield so much, and that they have poor security protocols in place, makes them an attractive target for thieves. The average metropolitan bank branches (excluding currency chests), in contrast, have superior security protocols, while normally holding far less amounts of cash in their branches (as excess cash is immediately transferred to currency chests).While the gold ornaments held in NBFC branches are insured, robberies are a law and order issue, especially when staff and members of the public are injured or killed during such robberies. If such robberies continue because NBFCs do not want to improve the security arrangements (for cost reasons), the police will be compelled to intervene and insist NBFCs invest in the necessary security protocols (strongrooms, armed guards, CCTVs being operational 24x7, technology) failing which the police will close branches to maintain law and order.In general, in the business of loans against gold, the credit, market and liquidity risks are taken care of by the nature of the commodity gold, and management therefore are to focus on operational risk management. The spate of robberies and the poor state of security protocols indicate that managements, for cost reasons, are ignoring these critical issues as they believe insurance will cover the risk. Stakeholders in NBFCs specialising in gold lending should be cognizant of the poor operational risk management, especially the poor security arrangements in the branches, which are attracting robberies. They must insist that these companies invest in the necessary protocols before the state decides to intervene.

Even though non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) dedicated to providing loans against gold ornaments are highly profitable and enjoy significant net interest margins (NIMs), stakeholders should be concerned about the vulnerability of their branches to robberies. The spate of robberies indicates that thieves are specifically targeting branches because they follow inadequate security protocols for the substantial gold ornaments they hold in custody for their customers. Examining the robberies reported in the media indicates that each of the targeted branches held gold valued at a minimum of Rs 100 mn (equivalent to atleast 25 kgs of gold ornaments). The fact that a robbery of a single branch can yield so much, and that they have poor security protocols in place, makes them an attractive target for thieves. The average metropolitan bank branches (excluding currency chests), in contrast, have superior security protocols, while normally holding far less amounts of cash in their branches (as excess cash is immediately transferred to currency chests).While the gold ornaments held in NBFC branches are insured, robberies are a law and order issue, especially when staff and members of the public are injured or killed during such robberies. If such robberies continue because NBFCs do not want to improve the security arrangements (for cost reasons), the police will be compelled to intervene and insist NBFCs invest in the necessary security protocols (strongrooms, armed guards, CCTVs being operational 24x7, technology) failing which the police will close branches to maintain law and order.In general, in the business of loans against gold, the credit, market and liquidity risks are taken care of by the nature of the commodity gold, and management therefore are to focus on operational risk management. The spate of robberies and the poor state of security protocols indicate that managements, for cost reasons, are ignoring these critical issues as they believe insurance will cover the risk. Stakeholders in NBFCs specialising in gold lending should be cognizant of the poor operational risk management, especially the poor security arrangements in the branches, which are attracting robberies. They must insist that these companies invest in the necessary protocols before the state decides to intervene.

Why Have Gold Loan NBFCs Become Low Hanging Fruit for Robbers?

Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

* RBI Failure To Think Through Moratorium Leads To Continued Uncertainty for India: On September 3, 2020, the Supreme Court of India held a hearing on interest rate waivers for loans under moratorium granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On September 10th, the Supreme Court clarified: a) the matter under discussion is related to interest on interest payments and not on the interest payments themselves; and b) that banks should not classify loans as NPL for another two month period, if they were not classified NPLs on August 31st.; and   *Dissatisfied Borrowers: The Supreme Court has now disposed of the 'interest on interest waiver' related petitions where borrowers were satisfied with the interest on interest waiver measures implemented by the RBI and the financial sector. However, there remain other borrowers (ie. power companies) who aren’t satisfied and have proposed further modifications to the RBI’s restructuring scheme.

* RBI Failure To Think Through Moratorium Leads To Continued Uncertainty for India: On September 3, 2020, the Supreme Court of India held a hearing on interest rate waivers for loans under moratorium granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On September 10th, the Supreme Court clarified: a) the matter under discussion is related to interest on interest payments and not on the interest payments themselves; and b) that banks should not classify loans as NPL for another two month period, if they were not classified NPLs on August 31st.; and   *Dissatisfied Borrowers: The Supreme Court has now disposed of the 'interest on interest waiver' related petitions where borrowers were satisfied with the interest on interest waiver measures implemented by the RBI and the financial sector. However, there remain other borrowers (ie. power companies) who aren’t satisfied and have proposed further modifications to the RBI’s restructuring scheme. 

Reserve Bank of India – The Fun Never Stops

Lakshmi Iyer, CFA

Today's announcement of a slew of measures by the Reserve Bank of India to get credit flowing through the economy  while providing a breather for fincos and borrowers is positive for fincos' liquidity.  We have earlier been comfortable with fincos' (the 4 USD bond issuers)  liquidity positions. The RBI's measures reinforce these issuers' liquidity positions.

Today's announcement of a slew of measures by the Reserve Bank of India to get credit flowing through the economy  while providing a breather for fincos and borrowers is positive for fincos' liquidity.  We have earlier been comfortable with fincos' (the 4 USD bond issuers)  liquidity positions. The RBI's measures reinforce these issuers' liquidity positions. 

RBI Announcement - Positive for Fincos' Liquidity

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

Value investor- India mid & small caps

Bhaskar Chakraborty

<ul>
<li>While many NBFCs pulled back on disbursements in 3QFY19, the sharpest declines were in SME/MSME, LAP and Loan Against Shares (LAS) segments</li>
<li>The pullback in SME/MSME financing has reduced working capital financing in some supply chains. This has impacted stocking in some discretionary items.</li>
<li>A number of players alluded to weakness in discretionary consumption post Diwali owing to the NBFC liquidity squeeze</li>
<li>With supply chains selectively impacted by liquidity tightness and weakness in demand, consumer discretionary players could not pass on input cost increases during the quarter</li>
</ul>


While many NBFCs pulled back on disbursements in 3QFY19, the sharpest declines were in SME/MSME, LAP and Loan Against Shares (LAS) segments
The pullback in SME/MSME financing has reduced working capital financing in some supply chains. This has impacted stocking in some discretionary items.
A number of players alluded to weakness in discretionary consumption post Diwali owing to the NBFC liquidity squeeze
With supply chains selectively impacted by liquidity tightness and weakness in demand, consumer discretionary players could not pass on input cost increases during the quarter


India Consumer Discretionary: Growth Slowing on NBFC Liquidity Tightness, Demand Softness

India

IIFL Finance Limited is an Indian diversified financial services company providing a comprehensive range of secured and unsecured lending products, including home loans, gold loans, business loans, and microfinance. The company serves retail, SME, and corporate clients across India. It was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

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IIFL Finance (IIFL IN)

Why Have Gold Loan NBFCs Become Low Hanging Fruit for Robbers?

The spate of robberies indicates that thieves are specifically targeting branches because they follow inadequate security protocols for the gold...

Hemindra Hazari

Reserve Bank of India – The Fun Never Stops

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA: Certain Borrowers Are Dis-Satisfied With "Interest On Interest Waiver" And Proposed Additional Modifications To RBI...

Thomas J. Monaco

RBI Announcement - Positive for Fincos' Liquidity

Today's announcement of a slew of measures by the Reserve Bank of India to get credit flowing through the economy while providing a breather for...

Lakshmi Iyer, 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

India Consumer Discretionary: Growth Slowing on NBFC Liquidity Tightness, Demand Softness

While many NBFCs pulled back on disbursements in 3QFY19, the sharpest declines were in SME/MSME, LAP and Loan Against Shares (LAS) segments The...

Bhaskar Chakraborty

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