Non-Banking Financial Companies Role in India's Development A Way Forward

This book examines the trend and growth of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), both from balance sheet and regulations view-points. It further investigates the role of NBFCs in furthering financial inclusion, last-mile delivery of credit and their contribution to financial sector.

Since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) formally recognised the NBFCs in India in 1964, they have increased significantly in terms of size, form and types of products and instruments. They have also managed their asset quality better than banks. Traditionally they were dependent on banks for funds, but after the global financial crisis they began to tap the capital market.  Concomitantly, the RBI regulations have closed the fault lines and tightened rules.

The book assesses whether NBFCs in India should be treated as shadow banks, discusses how to achieve the right amount of regulation and safeguards without unduly stifling the NBFC sector, and studies the funding opportunities and challenges of NBFCs in India. As such, it serves as a basic reference for students in finance, and a valuable tool for professionals such as policymakers and investment analysts and other stakeholders in the finance area.

R. Kannan is an Honorary Professor of Madras School of Economics.  He retired as Principal Advisor at the Reserve Bank of India after 30 years of service.  While at the RBI, he was deputed to the IMF as an advisor (1996-2001) and was also an advisor to the Governor of the Bank of Mauritius (1994-96). He was member of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, and was closely involved in writing the BASEL III regulations of selected Asian economies. He has published about 50 papers in various journals encompassing monetary policy, fiscal policy, balance of payments, exchange rate, pensions, economic capital for the life insurance industry, and early warning systems for the life insurance industry. He is currently teaching at the MSE on risk measurement and management, central banking, financial regulations and banking supervision.  

K.R. Shanmugam is a Professor and the Director of Madras School of Economics, specialising in applied economics, public finance, finance and banking. He is also a non-official independent director of ITI limited, a member of the Steering Committee on Research in Environment at the MoEFCC, and member of the Academic Council of the Central University of Tamil Nadu. He has published about 40 research articles in various journals and edited volumes, and has edited five books.   

Saumitra Bhaduri received his Master’s degree in Econometrics from Calcutta University, Kolkata, India, and his PhD in Financial Economics from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai, India. He currently works as a Professor at Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India, where he regularly offers courses on financial economics and econometrics, and on advanced quantitative techniques. He previously worked at GE Capital, the financial services division of the General Electric Company, and has held various quantitative analysis positions in the company’s finance services. He also founded and headed the GE – MSE Decision Sciences Laboratory, where he was responsible for developing state-of-the-art research output for GE. He has also published several research articles in various international journals. His research interests include financial economics and econometrics, quantitative techniques and advanced analytics.