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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The Edelweiss founder has drawn up an ambitious plan to pare the company's debt. But the lofty valuations of the assets on offer may be hard to justify.
Editor's note: Edelweiss Financial Services, the financial services arm of the over two-decade-old group founded by Rashesh Shah, is going for a big sale of its assets in an attempt to raise around Rs 8,000 crore and pare its mountain of debt, which currently stands at over three times its net worth. The sale includes a 14% stake in its wealth management business (Edelweiss Wealth Management) and a complete or partial exit from the life insurance (Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance) and housing finance (Edelweiss Housing Finance) businesses. Besides, the company has put some of its corporate and treasury assets on the block as well. Shareholders were informed about the sale at the company’s annual general meeting on 2 September. The company explained that this would help it meet the target of reducing debt by Rs 5,500 crore over the next four years. This came just two months after we reported that the group was facing a cash flow crisis, which had prompted it to look at options to sell its mutual fund business. (The company issued a denial to the stock exchanges; …
Atanu Chakraborty’s resignation does not appear as damaging as the bank’s response to it. The ‘all is well’ narrative needs an independent audit.
The increasing convergence of sales and service functions, with consequent non-stop pressure to meet targets, has seen employees jump ship in droves. This has the potential to adversely impact the financial institutions’ health.
The bank, following its March 2020 bailout, may have gone overboard in its quest for safety. That may soon change as it looks to acquire a microfinance business with the promise of high returns.
