JMFINANCIL

March 17 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• APPROVES BUSINESS TRANSFER AGREEMENT WITH JM FINANCIAL SERVICES

• AGREEMENT FOR TRANSFER OF PRIVATE WEALTH BUSINESS OF CO

• CONSIDERATION FOR SALE 110.8 MILLION RUPEES

• BUSINESS TRANSFER EFFECTIVE FROM APRIL 1, 2025

Source text: ID:nBSE1QQG1Y

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

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** Shares of JM Financial JMSH.NS climb as much as 5.5% to 108.61 rupees; last up 2.9%

** Financial services firm will receive income tax refund of 2.3 billion rupees ($27 million)

** Stock up ~8% so far this week, on track to log biggest weekly gain since late-September

($1 = 86.5525 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

Feb 20 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• GETS TAX DEPARTMENT ORDER FOR REFUND OF 2.30 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nNSE9CS35C

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

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Adds RBI lifting restrictions on Kotak Mahindra Bank

Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India has started to ease curbs on non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks after they improved their compliance following a series of supervisory restrictions.

High interest rates and tighter regulations have been cited as contributors to weak demand and a slowdown in India's economic growth, including by the federal finance ministry in a recent report.

The Indian central bank also got a new chief in December with Sanjay Malhotra taking over from Shaktikanta Das.

The following is a list of companies whose restrictions have been removed by the RBI.

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday lifted restrictions on Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS that had barred the lender from taking on new customers via its online and mobile banking channels, and from issuing new credit cards.

RBI had imposed business restrictions on the lender , asking it to stop adding clients through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing credit cards due to gaps in its IT infrastructure.

ASIRVAD MICRO FINANCE, DMI FINANCE, AROHAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, NAVI FINSERV

The RBI, last month, removed restrictions imposed on DMI Finance and Manappuram Finance-owned MNFL.NS Asirvad Micro Finance with immediate effect.

The regulator had in October barred the two companies, along with Arohan Financial Services and Navi Finserv, from sanctioning and disbursing loans due to "usurious" pricing and charging a significant mark-up over their funding costs.

The same restrictions on Arohan were lifted last week, and from Navi in December.

EDELWEISS ASSET RECONSTRUCTION, ECL FINANCE

The central bank last month lifted restrictions on Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction and ECL Finance, first imposed in May 2024, which barred them from acquiring financial assets or undertaking structured transactions.

The regulator was satisfied with the measures taken to address what it had called "evergreening" of distressed loans.

JM FINANCIAL

A unit of financial services firm JM Financial JMSH.NS in October resumed financing activities related to shares and debentures, including loans for IPO subscriptions after the central bank ended restrictive measures.

The RBI in March barred JM Financial Products from issuing such loans, due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

IIFL FINANCE

In September, the RBI permitted IIFL Finance to resume issuance of gold loans.

The central bank had barred it from offering gold loans in March, citing concerns about its assessment of gold collateral and violations of the maximum permitted loan-to-value ratio, among other issues.

BAJAJ FINANCE

The RBI in May reversed curbs imposed on India's largest NBFC, Bajaj Finance, allowing it to restart loan disbursals under two of its lending products.

The restrictions were levied in November 2023 due to non-adherence with the central bank's digital lending guidelines.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

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** India's Fortis Healthcare FOHE.NS, One 97 Communications PAYT.NS, Coforge COFO.NS and four other stocks rise between 1% and 5% ahead of MSCI rebalancing announcement post-market hours on Feb. 11

** Eight Indian stocks likely to be included in MSCI indexes, attracting $1.28 billion inflows, says JM Financial Services

** MSCI indexes tracked widely by investors, passive funds globally

** FOHE, PAYT, COFO, and Coromandel International CORF.NS up 5.3%, 2.7%, 1.4% and 1% respectively; JM Financial Services sees high probability of their inclusion

** Blue Star BLUS.NS, Federal Bank FED.NS, Uno Minda UNOI.NS, and GE Vernova TD India GETD.NS are JM Financial's "low conviction" inclusion candidates, up 0.1%-5%

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of JM Financial JMSH.NS fall as much as 11% to 95.28 rupees, lowest since Aug. 26; last down 9.1%

** The financial services firm on Tuesday reported ~25% Y/Y fall in Q3 consol net profit while total rev from ops fell 10.5% Y/Y

** Stock on track for a fourth consecutive session of loss, if trend holds

** More than 6 mln shares change hands, 2.1x of 30-day avg

** Stock fell 13.7% in Dec. qtr, snapping two straight quarters of gain

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] (+91 7982114624))

Jan 28 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• JM FINANCIAL DEC-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 2.09 BILLION RUPEES

• JM FINANCIAL DEC-QUARTER CONSOL TOTAL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 11.06 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE5Zs61w

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];;))

Jan 15 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• JM FINANCIAL - NAMES ANKUR JHAVERI AS MD, CEO, INSTITUTIONAL EQUITIES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];))

Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India has started to ease curbs on non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) after they improved their compliance following a series of supervisory restrictions.

High interest rates and tighter regulations have been cited as contributors to weak demand and a slowdown in India's economic growth, including by the federal finance ministry in a recent report.

The Indian central bank also got a new chief in December with Sanjay Malhotra taking over from Shaktikanta Das.

The following is a list of companies whose restrictions have been removed by the RBI.

ASIRVAD MICRO FINANCE, DMI FINANCE, AROHAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, NAVI FINSERV

The RBI on Wednesday removed restrictions imposed on DMI Finance and Manappuram Finance-owned MNFL.NS Asirvad Micro Finance with immediate effect.

The regulator had in October barred the two companies, along with Arohan Financial Services and Navi Finserv, from sanctioning and disbursing loans due to "usurious" pricing and charging a significant mark-up over their funding costs.

The same restrictions on Arohan were lifted last week, and from Navi in December.

EDELWEISS ASSET RECONSTRUCTION, ECL FINANCE

The central bank last month lifted restrictions on Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction and ECL Finance, first imposed in May 2024, which barred them from acquiring financial assets or undertaking structured transactions.

The regulator was satisfied with the measures taken to address what it had called "evergreening" of distressed loans.

JM FINANCIAL

A unit of financial services firm JM Financial JMSH.NS in October resumed financing activities related to shares and debentures, including loans for IPO subscriptions after the central bank ended restrictive measures.

The RBI in March barred JM Financial Products from issuing such loans, due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

IIFL FINANCE

In September, the RBI permitted IIFL Finance to resume issuance of gold loans.

The central bank had barred it from offering gold loans in March, citing concerns about its assessment of gold collateral and violations of the maximum permitted loan-to-value ratio, among other issues.

BAJAJ FINANCE

The RBI in May reversed curbs imposed on India's largest NBFC, Bajaj Finance, allowing it to restart loan disbursals under two of its lending products.

The restrictions were levied in November 2023 due to non-adherence with the central bank's digital lending guidelines.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

Jan 3 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• RECEIVES ADMINISTRATIVE WARNING FROM SEBI

• WARNING RELATED TO IPO OF CLIENT WESTERN CARRIER (INDIA) LIMITED

Source text: ID:nBSE5K473v

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

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Oct 25 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 2.32 BILLION RUPEES

• SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL TOTAL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 11.91 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

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** Shares of India's JM Financial JMSH.NS jump ~6% to 168 rupees

** The NBFC on Friday said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted the ban on unit JM Financial Products

** In March, the RBI barred JM Financial Products from issuing loans against shares and debentures, citing regulatory violations and governance concerns

** Stock has risen ~70% YTD

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

Updates Factbox published on May 30 with recent RBI actions

By Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) increased scrutiny of banks and other financial firms has resulted in a spate of supervisory restrictions, most recently on four non-banking finance companies due to concerns related to loan pricing practices.

On Thursday, the RBI said Asirvad Micro Finance, Arohan Financial Services, DMI Finance and Navi Finserv are restricted from sanctioning and disbursing loans post Oct. 21.

The pricing policies of these non-banking financial companies (NBFC) and the interest spread they charged over their cost of funds were found to be excessive and not in adherence to regulations, the RBI said.

Since 2020, the RBI has placed business restrictions on many players. The following are some of its key actions:

HDFC BANK

In December 2020, the RBI ordered HDFC Bank to stop all launches of new digital products and issuance of new credit cards following multiple outages on the bank's digital banking channels.

The restrictions lasted until March 2022, which hindered the bank's business growth, contributing to underperformance of its stock compared to its peers.

BANK OF BARODA

In October 2023, the central bank barred state-run Bank of Baroda from adding customers to its mobile app, India's retail inflation accelerated to a nine-month high of 5.49% in September.

Al Jazeera reported that Bank of Baroda had linked mobile numbers of strangers to boost registrations on the application, compromising security.

The restriction was lifted in May after the bank rectified the deficiencies.

BAJAJ FINANCE

In November 2023, the RBI ordered India's largest NBFC, Bajaj Finance, to stop offering loans under two of its lending products.

The restrictions were levied due to non-adherence with the central bank's digital lending guidelines and were reversed in May.

PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK

At the end of January 2024, the RBI asked Paytm Payments Bank to wind down its operations by March 15 due to persistent compliance issues and supervisory concerns.

Reuters reported that the RBI's concerns stemmed largely from violations of rules on customer due diligence, use of funds and technology infrastructure.

IIFL FINANCE

In early March 2024, the RBI barred IIFL Finance, an NBFC, from offering gold loans, citing concerns about the lender's assessment of the gold collateral and violations of the maximum permitted loan-to-value ratio, among other issues.

The restrictions were lifted in September.

JM FINANCIAL

Also in March 2024, NBFC JM Financial was barred from giving out loans against shares and debentures due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

The central bank said it found serious deficiencies in respect of loans sanctioned by the company for IPO financing. The non-bank lender continues to be barred from operating in the segment.

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK:

In April, the RBI asked private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank to stop adding clients digitally and issuing credit cards citing to gaps in its IT infrastructure. The restrictions are still in effect.

EDELWEISS ASSET RECONSTRUCTION, ECL FINANCE:

In May, the RBI had barred Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (EARCL) and non-banking firm ECL Finance (ECL) from acquiring financial assets or undertaking structured transactions, saying that the two entities engaged in "evergreening" distressed loans.

The restrictions continue to be in effect.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; +91-8769636545;))

Oct 8 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• INDIA COMPETITION WATCHDOG: APPROVES ACQUISITION OF 42.99% STAKE OF JM FINANCIAL CREDIT SOLUTIONS BY JM FINANCIAL

• CCI: APPROVES ACQUISITION OF 71.79% STAKE OF JM FINANCIAL ASSET RECONSTRUCTION BY JM FINANCIAL CREDIT SOLUTIONS

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];))

Aug 6 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• JM FINANCIAL LTD JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL NET PROFIT 1.71 BILLION RUPEES

• JM FINANCIAL LTD JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL TOTAL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 10.77 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];))

June 21 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• SEBI HAS ISSUED AN ORDER IN RELATION TO CO

• CO IS COMMITTED TO COOPERATE WITH SEBI FOR RESOLUTION OF MATTER

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];))

June 20 (Reuters) - JM Financial Ltd JMSH.NS:

• SEBI - CONFIRMATORY ORDER IN MATTER OF JM FINANCIAL

• SEBI - JM FINANCIAL SHALL NOT ACT AS LEAD MANAGER IN ANY PUBLIC ISSUE OF DEBT SECURITIES TILL MARCH 31,2025 OR OTHER DATE SPECIFIED BY SEBI

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: JMSH.NS

(([email protected];;))

Updates Factbox published on April 25 with recent RBI actions

By Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) increased scrutiny of banks and other financial firms has resulted in a spate of supervisory restrictions, most recently on two Edelweiss Group companies for engaging in 'evergreening' of distressed assets.

On Tuesday, the RBI said Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (EARCL) and non-banking firm ECL Finance (ECL) had entered into a series of structured transactions for evergreening some stressed loans, barring both firms from acquiring financial assets or undertaking structured transactions.

Since 2020, the RBI has placed business restrictions on many players. The following are some of its key actions:

HDFC BANK

In December 2020 the RBI ordered HDFC Bank to stop all launches of new digital products and issuance of new credit cards following multiple outages on the bank's digital banking channels.

The restrictions lasted until March 2022 which hindered the bank's business growth, contributing to underperformance of its stock compared to its peers.

BANK OF BARODA

In October 2023, the central bank barred state-run Bank of Baroda from adding customers to its mobile app, bob World.

Al Jazeera reported that Bank of Baroda had linked mobile numbers of strangers to boost registrations on the application, compromising security.

The restriction was lifted earlier in May after the bank rectified the deficiencies.

BAJAJ FINANCE

In November 2023 the RBI ordered India's largest non-bank finance company (NBFC), Bajaj Finance, to stop offering loans under two of its lending products.

The restrictions were levied due to non-adherence with the central bank's digital lending guidelines and were reversed earlier this month.

PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK

At the end of January 2024 the RBI asked Paytm Payments Bank to wind down its operations by March 15 due to persistent compliance issues and supervisory concerns.

Reuters reported that the RBI's concerns stemmed largely from violations of rules on customer due diligence, use of funds and technology infrastructure.

IIFL FINANCE

In early March 2024 the RBI barred IIFL Finance, an NBFC, from offering gold loans, citing concerns about the lender's assessment of the gold collateral and violations of the maximum permitted loan-to-value ratio, among other issues.

The restrictions are still in effect.

JM FINANCIAL

Also in March 2024, non-bank financier JM Financial was barred from giving out loans against shares and debentures due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

The central bank said it found serious deficiencies in respect of loans sanctioned by the company for IPO financing. The non-bank lender continues to be barred from operating in the segment.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; +91-8769636545;))

By Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak

MUMBAI, April 25 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) increased scrutiny of banks and other financial firms has resulted in a spate of supervisory restrictions, most recently on Kotak Mahindra Bank, India's fourth largest private lender by assets.

On Wednesday the RBI barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from taking on new customers digitally and issuing credit cards, due to information technology-related deficiencies.

Since 2020, the RBI has placed business restrictions on HDFC Bank, India's largest private lender, Paytm Payments Bank, the banking unit of fintech firm Paytm, and JM Financial, among others. Following are some of the key actions:

HDFC BANK

In December 2020 the RBI ordered HDFC Bank to stop all launches of new digital products and issuance of new credit cards following multiple outages on the bank's digital banking channels.

The restrictions lasted until March 2022 which hindered the bank's business growth, contributing to underperformance of its stock compared to its peers.

BANK OF BARODA

In October 2023, the central bank barred state-run Bank of Baroda from adding customers to its mobile app, bob World.

Al Jazeera reported that Bank of Baroda had linked mobile numbers of strangers to boost registrations on the application, compromising security.

The restriction is yet to be lifted.

BAJAJ FINANCE

In November 2023 the RBI ordered India's largest non-bank finance company (NBFC), Bajaj Finance, to stop offering loans under two of its lending products.

The restrictions were levied due to non-adherence with the central bank's digital lending guidelines. The restrictions are still in effect.

PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK

At the end of January 2024 the RBI asked Paytm Payments Bank to wind down its operations by March 15 due to persistent compliance issues and supervisory concerns.

Reuters reported that the RBI's concerns stemmed largely from violations of rules on customer due diligence, use of funds and technology infrastructure.

IIFL FINANCE

In early March 2024 the RBI barred IIFL Finance, an NBFC, from offering gold loans, citing concerns about the lender's assessment of the gold collateral and violations of the maximum permitted loan-to-value ratio, among other issues.

The restrictions are still in effect.

JM FINANCIAL

Also in March 2024, non-bank financier JM Financial was barred from giving out loans against shares and debentures due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

The central bank said it found serious deficiencies in respect of loans sanctioned by the company for IPO financing. The non-bank lender continues to be barred from operating in the segment.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra and Siddhi Nayak)

(([email protected]; +91-8769636545;))

** Shares of JM Financial JMSH.NS down 7.3% at 81.50 rupees

** India's markets regulator SEBI banned the financial services group from managing any new bond issues

** JMSH provided funds to individual investors to invest in public debt issues, while simultaneously assuring them of an exit at a profit on the listing day, SEBI said

** Stock down ~15% since India's RBI barred JMSH's non-bank unit on March 5 from lending against shares or debentures

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

By Jayshree P Upadhyay and Dharamraj Dhutia

MUMBAI, March 8 (Reuters) - India's financial market regulator and its central bank are widening an investigation into how merchant banks manage retail subscriptions in public debt issues, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred JM Financial from taking new mandates this week, saying it had found that funds from connected entities were used to inflate subscriptions and provide an assured exit to investors.

JM Financial said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday that it will fully cooperate with SEBI in its investigations.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), meanwhile, has told JM Financial's non-banking unit to stop any form of financing against shares and debentures, including loans to customers to subscribe to initial public offerings (IPOs).

Several other cases are under investigation to see if merchant banks provided investors with an exit through connected non-banking finance firms, said the two sources, who declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Investigators are also studying if disproportionate loans were given to subscribes and whether customer identification processes were not adequately followed, the sources added.

SEBI and RBI did not respond to requests for comment.

Indian regulations do not bar investors from taking on credit to subscribe to debt securities in public issues.

However, assuring investors of a profitable exit would break the code of conduct for merchant banks which bars them from creating an artificial market.

MARKET IMPACT

Indian companies have raised more than 200 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) via public issues of bonds so far this financial year, more than double last year, data from Prime Database showed. This is also the highest in last five years.

Five merchant bankers told Reuters that the regulatory scrutiny of processes followed in the public debt market could cut subscriptions for such issues and raise the cost of funds.

"This will now lead to a slowdown in retail subscriptions, as an artificial demand for the product was created, which actually did not exist," said one banker, declining to be identified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Non-bank lenders, which are looking to diversify their source of funds after the central bank raised capital requirements for banks to lend to them, may be hardest hit.

Bank lending to NBFCs has slowed in the past few months and SEBI's investigation could push them back to fundraising through private debt placements, said Vinay Pai, head of fixed income at Equirus.

($1 = 82.7070 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jayshree P Upadhyay and Dharamraj Dhutia; Additional reporting by Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Ira Dugal and Alexander Smith)

(([email protected];))

Updates with company statement in 4th paragraph

BENGALURU, March 7 (Reuters) - India's markets regulator said on Thursday it had barred JM Financial from taking on new mandates for bond issues.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said in an interim order that JM Financial provided funds to individual investors to invest in public debt issues while simultaneously assuring them of an exit at a profit on the listing day.

JM Financial JMSH.NS did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on SEBI's move, which followed a preliminary investigation into the company and its non-bank finance business while managing public debt issues.

In a late night filing with exchanges on Thursday, JM Financial said that it will fully cooperate with SEBI in its investigations.

In a separate order on Tuesday, India's central bank told JM Financial's non-banking unit to stop any form of financing against shares and debentures, including loans to customers to subscribe to initial public offerings.

Prime Databas ranks JM Financial as among the top 15 arrangers for the private placement of bonds in India so far this financial year, as well as one of the most active lead managers for public issues of debt.

SEBI's order said JM Financial can, however, act as lead manager for public debt issues for another 60 days.

JM Financial, together with connected entities "were found to have given an assured exit to certain investors at a profit thereby incentivising them to apply in the public issue in contravention of regulatory mandates," SEBI said in its order.

In some cases, entities connected to JM Financial acquired the securities themselves to provide investors that assured exit and subsequently sold them at a loss.

The watchdog said JM Financial had told it that this was done to create liquidity for the bonds in question.

SEBI said it had examined loan applications by some investors and found discrepancies such as amounts far exceeding annual income, data mismatches and a lack of upfront margins.

JM Financial, as a merchant banker, "entered into the transaction confident in the knowledge that it had all the levers at its command and control to ensure success of the public issue," SEBI said in its order.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru and Jayshree P Upadhyay; additional reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Chizu Nomiyama and Alexander Smith)

(([email protected]; (+91 9945291420); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))

Updates shares, adds details on IPO subscription lending in paragraph 3

BENGALURU, March 6 (Reuters) - Shares in India's JM Financial JMSH.NS ended 10% lower on Wednesday after the central bank barred one of its units from any form of financing against shares and debentures, including loans to customers to subscribe to initial public offerings.

The financial services group, which has a market cap of 73 billion rupees ($881.5 million), offers short-term uncollateralised loans for IPO subscriptions through its non-bank business JM Financial Products.

It said in an exchange filing on Wednesday that it earned just 0.3% of its consolidated income from such lending in April-December 2023, and that the order would not have any material monetary impact.

The central bank said in its order that "the credit underwriting was found to be perfunctory, and financing was done against meagre margins".

The company said in response there were no deficiencies in the unit's loan sanctioning process. Its shares pared some losses after falling by an exchange-allowed maximum of 20% earlier in the day.

"We strongly believe there have been no material deficiencies in our loan sanctioning process," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "Further, the company has not violated applicable regulations."

RBI rules allow banks to lend a maximum of 1 million rupees to individuals via NBFCs to subscribe to IPOs, a limit that is not allowed to be breached even indirectly.

The central bank's action came a day after another non-bank finance company (NBFC), IIFL Finance IIFL.NS, was restricted from providing loans against gold.

"We believe these punitive actions will impact systemic growth for NBFCs in the near term," brokerage Emkay said in a note on Wednesday, adding however that it would hopefully curb any unethical business practices.

In JM Financial's case, the central bank also objected to a procedure in which a power of attorney provided by the customer was used to apply for shares in an IPO and eventually sell them, although the bank does not explicitly prohibit this.

"This process of taking a power of attorney is quite common in the markets and will now stop," said Arun Kejriwal, the founder of Kejriwal Research & Investment Services Pvt Ltd.

The RBI's order for JM Financial to halt any form of financing against shares and debentures was specific to it and should not be seen as a signal to the market, Kejriwal added.

Separately, India's market regulator had sought some information from the company "as part of a fact-gathering exercise", a spokesperson for JM Financial said, without elaborating.

In response to a report on Wednesday in the Economic Times newspaper that the market regulator is set to impose an order against JM Financial for its alleged role in inflating IPO subscription numbers, the spokesperson said it "categorically refutes" the claim.

($1=82.8950 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Sonia Cheema, Clarence Fernandez and Jan Harvey)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

Adds details, analyst comment, background in paragraphs 8-10

BENGALURU, March 5 (Reuters) - India's central bank on Tuesday barred JM Financial Products from giving out loans against shares and debentures due to regulatory violations and governance concerns.

The action against the unit of investment banking firm JM Financial JMSH.NS is the latest in the regulator's crackdown on non-bank lenders.

The financial services firm has been barred from giving out loans against initial public offering of shares and subscription to debentures, but it can continue to service existing loan accounts through the usual collection and recovery process, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.

"This action is necessitated due to certain serious deficiencies observed in respect of loans sanctioned by the company for IPO financing as well as NCD (non-convertible debenture) subscriptions," the RBI said.

The central bank reviewed the company's books, which showed it had repeatedly helped a group of its customers to bid for various IPO and NCD offerings by using loaned funds.

However, the credit underwriting was found to be "perfunctory", and financing was done against meagre margins, the RBI said.

"Apart from being in violation of regulatory guidelines, there are serious concerns on governance issues in the company," the RBI said.

JM Financial Products had total assets worth 71.97 billion rupees (about $868 million) as of Dec. 31.

JM Financial did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

India's central bank has stepped up oversight of banks and non-bank finance companies over the last few years to ensure compliance of its norms and protect customer interest.

"The increased supervisory actions against regulated entities are largely because the RBI wants to curb any kind of unnatural growth and/or any non-compliance to their norms," Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, said on Tuesday.

The RBI on Monday ordered non-bank finance company IIFL Finance IIFL.NS to stop giving out gold loans, citing "material supervisory concerns" in its gold loan portfolio, sending its shares down 20% on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Siddhi Nayak in Mumbai; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

MUMBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A summary of primary bond market deals in India as of 6:00 p.m. IST (1230 GMT) on Feb. 14. Please note the list includes deals reported by Reuters and is not exhaustive.

* Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

(Reporting by Bhakti Tambe)

(([email protected]))

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's JM Financial Credit Solutions plans to raise 8.50 billion rupees ($102.44 million) through sale of bonds maturing in two years and six months, two years and seven months and in three years, three merchant bankers said.

The company will pay an annual coupon of 9.30% on each issue, and has invited commitment bids from bankers and investors on Wednesday, they said.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on Feb. 13:

* Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 82.9730 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

(([email protected]))

By Dharamraj Dhutia and Bhakti Tambe

MUMBAI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Indian lenders doubled the amount of funds raised via longer-term infrastructure bonds this year, as increased federal government spending on long-term projects created lending opportunities.

Banks raised over 584 billion rupees ($7.04 billion) via infrastructure bonds in 2023 compared to 296 billion rupees raised in 2022, data compiled by Reuters showed.

India's largest private lender HDFC Bank raised 74.25 billion rupees through 10-year bonds at an interest rate of 7.71% on Monday.

The bank did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Peers Axis Bank and ICICI Bank are likely to raise 50 billion rupees each before the end of the month, while state-run institutional lenders NABARD and NaBFID will look to raise 100 billion rupees each through such offerings later this week, merchant bankers said.

State-run lenders have raised 447.18 billion rupees via such papers, while private players have raised 137.15 billion rupees.

The federal government aims to spend 10 trillion rupees this fiscal year on long-term projects to boost growth. Spending by states has also picked up.

Sectors such as roads, thermal power, renewables and cement are seeing a pick-up in activity, leading to lending opportunities, said Arnab Choudhury, head of debt capital markets at SBI Capital Markets.

The construction sector is also selectively seeing more spending, said Choudhary, who expects fundraising via infrastructure bonds to remain strong into next year.

Infrastructure bond issues have seen active participation from long-term investors such as retirement funds and insurance companies, allowing for such funds to be raised at lower spreads, said Mataprasad Pandey, vice president at financial advisory firm Arete Capital.

The spreads, or additional interest sought by investors, has ranged from 20-40 basis points over comparative government bonds.

Infrastructure bonds fulfil the need for investments in the 7-10 year bucket for insurance companies, Rahul Bhuskute, chief investment officer at Bharti AXA Life Insurance, said.

"We expect more infrastructure bond issuances by banks with strong demand from insurance companies and pension funds."

($1 = 82.9975 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia and Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Janane Venkatraman

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