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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.
For the past two decades, the Canadian billionaire has been working towards building a conglomerate in the country, and there’s no stopping him.
Editor's note: In 2018, Prem Watsa, the Indian-born Canadian billionaire, became the first-ever foreign promoter to gain a controlling stake in an Indian bank. His Fairfax India Holdings acquired 51% of Thrissur-headquartered CSB Bank, a century-old private lender that was deep in the red at the time. Under Fairfax, an insurance and asset management conglomerate, the bank pulled off a turnaround, delivering profits and cleaning up its loan book. Now, Watsa has his eye on government-controlled IDBI Bank. Finance ministry officials have held preliminary talks with Toronto-based Fairfax and other bidders, The Economic Times reported last week. A deal could involve the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation selling a majority of their combined 94.7% stake in IDBI to Fairfax, which could merge it with CSB Bank, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. The finance ministry’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has already asked the Reserve Bank of India to begin due diligence on Fairfax as a possible promoter of IDBI Bank, says a public sector bank official, asking not to be named. A deal—which will likely face strict scrutiny from …
For the past two decades, the Canadian billionaire has been working towards building a conglomerate in the country, and there’s no stopping him.
Editor's note: In 2018, Prem Watsa, the Indian-born Canadian billionaire, became the first-ever foreign promoter to gain a controlling stake in an Indian bank. His Fairfax India Holdings acquired 51% of Thrissur-headquartered CSB Bank, a century-old private lender that was deep in the red at the time. Under Fairfax, an insurance and asset management conglomerate, the bank pulled off a turnaround, delivering profits and cleaning up its loan book. Now, Watsa has his eye on government-controlled IDBI Bank. Finance ministry officials have held preliminary talks with Toronto-based Fairfax and other bidders, The Economic Times reported last week. A deal could involve the government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation selling a majority of their combined 94.7% stake in IDBI to Fairfax, which could merge it with CSB Bank, according to The Hindu BusinessLine. The finance ministry’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has already asked the Reserve Bank of India to begin due diligence on Fairfax as a possible promoter of IDBI Bank, says a public sector bank official, asking not to be named. A deal—which will likely face strict scrutiny from …
The central bank’s shift to a 100% collateral requirement threatens to erode leverage, reduce volumes and force a consolidation across prop desks.
High returns, RBI-regulated comfort, and easy withdrawals drew investors in. Now, with repayments drying up, the fintech platform, its NBFC partner, and the regulator are pointing fingers—leaving customers to chase their own money.
The RBI’s unusually harsh order raises deeper questions about management credibility—and whether investors should take assurances at face value.
The central bank’s shift to a 100% collateral requirement threatens to erode leverage, reduce volumes and force a consolidation across prop desks.
High returns, RBI-regulated comfort, and easy withdrawals drew investors in. Now, with repayments drying up, the fintech platform, its NBFC partner, and the regulator are pointing fingers—leaving customers to chase their own money.
The RBI’s unusually harsh order raises deeper questions about management credibility—and whether investors should take assurances at face value.
