HFCs’ portfolio to grow by 8-10% this fiscal: ICRA
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Housing finance companies are expected to register a growth of eight to 10 per cent in their portfolio this fiscal, ratings agency ICRA said on Monday.
Noting that the second wave of Covid-19 infections impacted business sentiments in the first quarter of the fiscal, ICRA said growth is expected to pick up in the rest of 2021-22.
“The healthy demand in the industry, increasing level of economic activity and increasing vaccination in the country are expected to result in a steady growth in disbursements and improvement in collection efficiency in 2021-22,” it said.
However, while the portfolio growth is expected to drive an improvement in revenue, the expected elevated credit costs are likely to keep the profitability subdued in the fiscal, it cautioned.
Asset quality metrics
Asset quality metrics weakened quite sharply in the first quarter of the fiscal but the headline asset quality numbers are expected to moderate slightly from current level as the trend in the collection efficiency continues to remain encouraging, the agency further said.
ICRA expects a 40to 70 basis points increase (net of recoveries and write-offs) in the gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) by March 31, 2022 from GNPAs as on March 31, 2021, assuming there are no further Covid-19 induced lockdowns.
“Overall, on-book portfolio of HFCs in India is estimated at ₹11 lakh crore as on June 30, 2021, with exposures across home loans, loan against property, construction finance, and lease rental discounting. The Covid-19-induced disruptions moderated the portfolio growth to 6 per cent in 2020-21,” noted Sachin Sachdeva, Vice-President and Sector Head, Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA.
The pre-tax return on average managed assets (PBT per cent) for the fiscal is likely to remain similar to levels of last fiscal at 1.9 to 2 per cent, he further said, adding that if the collection efficiency trends post a steady and healthy revival and if slippages remain contained, then PBT per cent may also benefit from reversals in provisions.
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