The quality and intellectual calibre of the former directors of insolvent IL&FS was revealed to all when an anonymous former director and ex-member of its risk management committee of the board went on record with a Business Standard journalist to justify the incompetence of the board. Such conduct may...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. In a significant event, Deepak Parekh, the non-executive chairman of HDFC, agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in connection with the latter’s investigation of non-compliance with the erstwhile Listing Agreement. Parekh settled the issue by paying Rs 937,500 (US$ 12,727) to...
It is extremely unfortunate that the regulatory agencies have till date not penalised any senior individual in the banks or the partners in the audit firms responsible for the huge divergence in NPAs in FY2016. The lack of punishment so far raises concerns of ‘regulatory capture’ by the private sector banks.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. US law firms, Rosen Legal, Pomerantz and Schall have filed class action suits (here, here and here) against HDFC Bank. The grounds are that HDFC Bank allegedly misled investors, provided inadequate disclosures and internal controls over financial reporting, and engaged in improper lending practices in its automobile...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. To address the woeful state of corporate governance in India’s banking sector, especially in the much fancied and widely covered private sector (in which foreign institutional investors are heavily invested), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a discussion paper on ‘Governance in Commercial Banks in India.”...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The default by the unlisted Altico Capital India (erstwhile Clearwater Capital Partners India Private Limited), a “Systemically Important Non-Bank Finance Company” owned by marquee foreign shareholders, is a resoundingly loud and clear warning to the capital market on the precarious state of NBFCs and the unreliability of...
The State Bank of India (SBI) is India’s largest bank by assets and the government’s most prestigious bank. Formerly the Imperial Bank of India under British rule, the SBI long remained something of an empire, its chairmen exalted figures ruling over an army of 235,858 employees. Unfortunately, the SBI...
The appalling record of incompetence, and likely worse, by India’s credit rating agencies (CRAs) continues to lengthen. The latest instance is the double default of commercial debt obligations (on June 27 and July 1, 2019) by Cox and Kings, a tour and travels services company. In this case the...
