IIFL Finance's gold loan book shrinks by over Rs 7,000 crore in Q1

Follows RBI curbs on lender in March this year

The gold loan assets under management (AUM) of IIFL Finance has shrunk over Rs 7,000 crore in three months to around Rs 16,000 crore in June 2024 from Rs 23,354 crore in March 2024.

This follows the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) restrictions on IIFL Finance for fresh sanctions and disbursement of gold loans, according to CRISIL Ratings. The RBI had imposed curbs, citing certain material supervisory concerns, in March 2024.

A year ago, the AUM of the gold loan business was Rs 22,142 crore (as of June 30, 2023), IIFL Finance data showed.

Other key businesses of the group — home loans, microfinance, loan against property and others — are not directly impacted by this RBI directive, CRISIL said in a statement.

 

CRISIL continues to maintain IIFL Finance’s bank facilities and debt instruments on “Rating Watch with developing implications.” It reaffirmed the short-term ratings at “A1+”.

IIFL Finance, in response to queries from Business Standard, said, “As a listed company, IIFL Finance is bound by regulatory guidelines, which stipulate that we cannot disclose financial data or performance metrics until they are officially announced. We will share the Q1 results as soon as they are formally released to the public.”

The rating agency said there was some moderation seen in fund raising in the form of fresh sanctions in IIFL Home Finance and IIFL Samasta Finance, a micro finance unit.

However, there has been a pickup in the second half of June, according to CRISIL.

Till the restrictions are lifted, the gold loan portfolio will continue to run down organically. Any developments stemming from this restriction, hindering the group’s ability to grow its non-gold portfolio, will be a key sensitivity factor, it added.

On June 4, 2024, IIFL Finance had announced the completion of the RBI-instituted special audit. The regulator is reviewing the findings of the special audit.

IIFL Finance’s liquidity position was strong.

On a provisional basis, the IIFL Finance group had liquidity of Rs 6,455 crore, including Rs 4,435 crore of cash and equivalents as well as Rs 336 crore of unutilised cash credit limit.

Against this, total debt obligation was Rs 4,256 crore over the three months through September 2024, CRISIL added.