India's housing finance sector is riding a wave of post-pandemic revival, driven by policy support, digital innovation, and growing demand from younger homebuyers in emerging cities.
Mortgage finance remains a structural growth opportunity in India with a policy focus on affordable housing, housing shortages, low mortgage penetration, and rising incomes as drivers. Affordable Housing Finance Companies (AHFCs) serve the mass market, low-income segments, which is the least-serviced category, and to operate in this segment, the mortgage provider needs good assessment skills. AHFCs and HFCs have also been increasing exposure in other mortgage segments (loan against property, developer loans among others).
'Opportunity is there in each segment of the market. There is opportunity in affordable and specifically governed by government initiatives as well as for housing for all.'
The Rs 6,560-crore initial public offer of Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd received 63.60 times subscription on September 11, the last day of bidding, amid overwhelming participation from institutional buyers. The initial share sale had a price band for the offer at Rs 66-70 per share.
'The demand for housing is always increasing, and so is housing shortage.'
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as Bajaj Finance, Shriram Finance, Muthoot Finance, and IIFL Finance have regained their growth momentum after losing market share to banks in the post-Covid period. The growth surge is being led by diversified lenders and gold-loan companies while development-finance institutions such as Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) continue to grow at a slower pace.
'We are working with a few housing finance companies to drive affordable lending because that's where we believe our sweet spot is.'
Every housing finance company, and every bank with a large housing finance exposure, will see loss of volumes in this quarter.
Housing finance companies are currently regulated by NHB, which is, in turn, regulated by RBI. NHB is wholly-owned by RBI.
High interest rates and lack of funds has hit non-banking finance companies. Though banks had extended loans to NBFCs at fixed rates, there is a reset clause which is now being exercised. Besides, the increase in interest rates is impacting companies that were borrowing directly from the market. What is also making life tough is the demand for longer-tenure loans by borrowers as they want to keep the equated monthly instalments under control despite a rise in interest rates.
Open offers this calendar year, following attempts at acquisition and takeover, came in at more than two a week. There were 121 such open offers to acquire additional shares following a substantial acquisition or change of control, shows the data compiled by primedatabase.com.
Companies in the lower mcap deciles have recorded the fastest growth in median mcap.
Seeks parity between HFCs and Banks on CAR requirement, hike in limit of interest on home loan for personal use and increased deduction of principal repayment of home loans
In a move aimed at curbing the mis-selling of financial products, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed banning incentives paid to bank staffers by third parties such as insurance companies and mutual fund houses for selling their products and services. It has also proposed that banks must ensure their user interfaces do not deploy "dark patterns" to lure customers.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, Indian business houses have urged the government to make demergers tax-neutral, particularly in cases involving transfer of investments in associate companies with 25 per cent or more shareholding, under the new Income Tax Act. This may possibly help some companies planning to go public, according to a source.
Private equity firm Carlyle Group and associates will acquire a controlling stake of over 50 per cent in PNB Housing Finance by investing in the Rs 4,000 crore preferential issue of equity and warrants of the Delhi-based mortgage lender. After the proposed transactions, expected to be completed by January 1, 2022, Carlyle will also have the right to nominate the chairperson of PNB Housing Finance (PNB HF). This right will continue as long as it holds at least 40 per cent of the share capital on a fully diluted basis.
The country's largest lender SBI is open to collaborating with foreign banks once the Reserve Bank makes it possible for local banks to do acquisition finance, its chairman CS Setty said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, weeks after the central bank announced its intent to allow Indian banks to fund companies for executing domestic acquisitions, Setty acknowledged that the "MNC (multinational companies) banks" are dominant in the space.
It is, thus, logical that some compensation is paid to a lender, especially when a customer is poached within two years, Parekh noted.
'Established filmmakers want to go with the sequels of earlier hit films like Housefull 5 or Mastiii 4. They don't want to come up with fresh ideas. This is pure laziness.'
Mint Road's proposals on banks' M&A funding are cautious even as entrants root for more elbow room, and weigh business models.
Public sector insurance firm subsidiary LIC Housing Finance on Tuesday announced a reduction in interest rates for its existing home loan borrowers.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
The housing finance sector is growing at around 30-35 per cent and is expected to end the fiscal with a size of Rs 45,000 crore (Rs 450 billion).
The government's Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to India's realty sector, said industry executives.
Rahul Gandhi said that had an INDIA Bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The White House has claimed that India has begun 'scaling back' its oil purchases from Russia at the 'request' of President Donald Trump.
'Grassroots-level corruption, which disrupts the last-mile work, cannot be ignored in your enthusiasm and drive to get going to complete the project.' 'Like it was in MGNREGA, in some states, it is the case with the Jal Jeevan mission.' 'The last minute levels of corruption can ruin the intent of the project itself.' 'When you see that people can game a particular well-intended and well-crafted project, you need to correct that.'
Tata Capital Ltd, set to launch its IPO next week, has identified green financing and digital innovation as its core growth pillars, backed by the merger of its IFC-backed subsidiary Tata Cleantech Capital in 2024. By FY25, the cleantech and infrastructure finance book reached Rs 18,000 crore, growing at a 31.8 per cent CAGR over the last two years, the NBFC said on Friday.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Housing finance companies (HFCs), which rely heavily on banks for funds, have said that loans taken by them should be exempted from the proposed base rate system.
Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Capital on Wednesday said it is planning to enter the housing finance and non-banking finance businesses, for which it has already filed applications with the concerned regulatory authorities.
Usually, in the western view, corporate success is attributed to efficiency, organisational structure, and scale. R Gopalakrishnan and Harish Bhat argue that philosophy, culture, and the transmission of values are more important for sustaining growth and profitability of an enterprise over a period of time.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
Pankaja and O'Sey Balamma bring deeply personal yet universally resonant stories to Sundance. They represent a new wave of South Indian storytelling, blending cultural authenticity with cinematic innovation, and mark an important step in amplifying regional voices on the international stage.
The Rs 20,000 crore is in addition to Rs 10,000 crore support announced earlier by the housing sector regulator NHB.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has cleared a series of regulatory relaxations to ease operations for fund managers in GIFT City, along with a revamped framework for global in-house centres (GICs) and capital market intermediaries.
Unit Trust of India and Industrial Finance Corporation of India, which together hold around 23 per cent stake in LIC Housing Finance, are likely to exit from the company even as LICHFL is exploring possibility of a public offer.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
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