Thursday, May 14, 2020

Stimulus will keep NBFCs and MFIs afloat, but won't be able to revive them


It is important to wait for the entire package to come to see if the measures will improve demand in the economy in any manner.


The relief package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, including the Rs 30,000-crore special liquidity scheme for non-bank finance companies (NBFCs), housing finance companies (HFCs), and micro-finance institutions (MFIs), is definitely a positive development for non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) given the tight liquidity conditions in the Covid-19-hit economy.
Compared to what we have seen so far, we can say that this package has some ‘relief’ for the sector. That said, we need to wait for all the announcements to come through before judging how each and every announcement will play out.

The FM announced a set of stimulus measures totaling nearly Rs 5.94 trillion to provide relief to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs); taxpayers; NBFCs; power distribution companies; the real estate sector; organised sector employees; and contractors working with the government.

While these announcements are enough are keep NBFCs, and micro finance institutions (MFIs) afloat in the current environment where working capital is drying up, it won’t revive the sector per se. Those NBFCs, who were unable to make repayments currently or need immediate cash to survive, would benefit from the announcements but we need to see contours of all the announcements before taking the final call.

Consider this: The NBFCs have given loan to a supplier who sees no demand for his/her product. How will the announcements made Wednesday help solve this situation? We don’t know yet! Therefore, it is important to wait for the entire package to come to see if the measures will improve demand in the economy in any manner.

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