StanChart stops accepting Adani bonds as collateral: Report

Standard Chartered (Image: Moneycontrol)

Standard Chartered Plc. has stopped accepting bonds of Adani Group firms as collateral on margin loans, ET Now television channel reported, without saying where it got the information.

The lender has asked its private clients to top up their collateral for any shortfall, the report said.

A Standard Chartered India spokesperson declined to comment on the report.

The move follows similar actions by Citigroup Inc.’s wealth arm and Credit Suisse Group AG, as the Adani securities were roiled by allegations of fraud from US-based Hindenburg Research. The Adani group has repeatedly denied the short seller’s allegations.

Bondholders of Adani Group firms are having initial conversations with financial advisers and lawyers to weigh their options after the unfolding crisis at the Indian conglomerate sent several dollar obligations into distressed territory.

The company abruptly pulled a record domestic stock offering after shares in the Adani group tanked. It has also shelved a plan to sell 10 billion rupees ($122 million) of bonds via a retail issue, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.