In the emerging scenario, there may be 'inorganic opportunities' for Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC) group companies, HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh said on July 2. He added that the company has identified new investment opportunities and some of its subsidiaries will require additional capital for their expansion plans.
In his address to shareholders in the FY20 Annual General Report, Parekh said while their performance was good, 'it was by no means an easy year', with heightened risk averseness in lending, choking credit where it was needed the most.
On the subject of the moratorium on loans offered by the central bank amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Parekh lauded the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) role, saying it has been at the forefront as it shouldered a huge burden to maintain financial stability.
"The saga of the highest court of law questioning the RBI on the moratorium was indeed unfortunate. Why should a central bank have to be answerable to a court on basic principles on which the financial sector operates on?" Parekh questioned, adding that interest payments on borrowings and loans are contractual obligations and that no laws are being violated.
Emphasising the point that the lockdown has reinforced the value of life's essentials --food, clothing, shelter and now, the internet, Parekh said, "There can be no better security in life than a home."
He said people now want their own homes more than ever before and will go to any length to hold on to their homes, and remains confident that "the inherent demand for housing is intact."
Parekh, 75, pointed towards the need for a level playing field for external commercial borrowings (ECBs). He said while non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) can access the ECB market for any of their lending businesses, housing finance companies (HFCs) can only raise ECBs under the very confined definition of affordable housing.
On support for the housing finance sector, he said the RBI should permit a one-time restructuring of real estate loans. This, he added, has been a long-standing request and a measure that has been implemented in the past to revive the sector.
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