‘We like the BNPL business and are originating a lot of customers using this model’

By Rajesh Kurup

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance (PCHFL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises, is scouting for partnerships with different 20 exertion firms to originate business. The non-deposit taking concern institution mightiness besides put successful immoderate of these firms, its managing manager Jairam Sridharan said. The steadfast is betting connected the emerging inclination of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), helium said successful an interrogation with Rajesh Kurup. Excerpts:

How did the pandemic interaction your concern and erstwhile volition it bounce backmost to pre-Covid levels?
On some the recognition hazard and caller lawsuit acquisition dimension, the businesses person reached and surpassed pre-Covid levels. There are immoderate lingering effects of the pandemic, with astir 2% of our lawsuit basal opting for the 2 rounds of restructuring (RBI norms). While the remainder person bounced back, these 2% request to beryllium watched closely, and caller concern volumes are intelligibly supra pre-Covid levels.

On the integration of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) with PCHFL?
The merger was completed connected September 30. At the clip of bidding, we had promised that we volition not beryllium doing immoderate large-scale layoffs, and present we person been capable to finalise roles for everybody. We person integrated the 2 organisations to make 1 consolidated firm, and we person besides integrated our antithetic lawsuit technologies.

We are besides hiring crossed DHFL branches arsenic by the clip we acquired it, DHFL’s unit spot fell by astir 65%. The integration is present benignant of afloat implicit and we are moving towards reigniting concern origination from each branches.

There were a batch of lawsuits filed against DHFL?
One of the advantages of going done an IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) process is that a batch of those liabilities get taken attraction of. Of course, determination are immoderate lawsuit complaints and collection-oriented litigations, which we volition proceed to enactment connected and adjacent successful the owed course.

You were besides scouting for further partnerships with exertion firms?
We presently person 9 partnerships and are moving connected 20 more. Our intent is to person a wide ecosystem of merchants and physics aggregators, and a level to originate customers. We privation to beryllium contiguous crossed the assorted modes of engagement that a lawsuit mightiness privation to have. The partnerships would beryllium with a fintech institution oregon a platform. So acold we person entered into partnerships only, but determination volition beryllium different modes of engagement, including investments.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is the buzzword present successful retail lending.
It’s evidently an absorbing merchandise proposition. It’s a elemental thought that the lawsuit tin person the acquisition straight into immoderate installments, usually without paying immoderate involvement if it is for a abbreviated term. For a somewhat longer term, a lawsuit would person to wage immoderate interest.

Globally, BNPL works connected merchant discounting but successful India merchant discounts are comparatively low, which raises immoderate challenges. Of the 9 integer partnerships that we already have, immoderate are already doing BNPL. We similar the concern and are originating a batch of customers utilizing this model.

Going forward, what is the program for the existent property business?
The existent property was the archetypal concern wherever we started arsenic it is simply a ample and capital-intensive sector. In the past, we had a batch of attraction connected the sector. In the mean term, we privation to physique a concern which is two-third retail and one-third wholesale lending, and wrong wholesale lending, fractional of it would beryllium existent property and the different fractional non-real property related wholesale lending.

We volition proceed to absorption connected retail, however, that doesn’t mean we are exiting the existent property assemblage but it is going to beryllium a smaller proportionality of our portfolio successful the future. Being excessively concentrated successful immoderate 1 assemblage is simply a risk.

On your plans for retail lending pursuing the DHFL deal?
Following the DHFL acquisition, we are contiguous crossed 300 branches. We privation to person sum of astir 1,000 cities successful the adjacent 3 years, with carnal beingness successful astir 500-600 cities. In the adjacent 12 months oregon truthful we expect to unfastened different astir 100 branches and past possibly 100-150 branches successful the 12-15 months aft that.