Religare Finvest Restarting Business Soon: RBI Approval Awaited

New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL), which is under the regulatory watch of Reserve Bank, hopes to restart its business soon as the central bank has completed inspection.

Religare Enterprises, the parent company of RFL, has also done Rs 2,300 crore One Time Settlement (OTS) with all 16 secured lenders.

"We are waiting for RBI to come back to us. Inspections are over, all the formalities are over," Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) executive chairperson Rashmi Saluja told PTI.

RFL, a non-banking financial company, has been under Corrective Action Plan (CAP) of RBI since January 2018 due to its weak financial health.

"We have monies. We have shown our strength. We already have enough capabilities and liquidity in the company to run the businesses. We're just waiting for go-ahead from RBI. It should happen now. So it should start those operations soon," she said.

RFL has been in financial distress due to alleged misappropriation of funds by erstwhile promoters Shivinder Singh and his brother Malvinder Singh.

Led by new management and a professionally-run board since 2018, Religare Group has been making strides to grow each of its entities and provide stability.

Meanwhile, REL management and the Burman Family are locked in a pitched battle for the acquisition of the financial services firm.

Burmans, who hold around 25 per cent of REL through four entities -- MB Finmart, Puran Associates, VIC Enterprises and Milky Investment and Trading Co -- announced an open offer on September 25, 2023, to acquire 26 per cent stake from the public shareholders.

The Rs 2,116 crore open offer plan sparked a row between REL management and the Burmans, with both sides trading charges.

Despite the battle, she said performance of REL has improved and it is also ratified by rating agencies by improving rating.

Regulators have been completely satisfied, she said, adding moral of employees is also high and there has been hardly any attrition in the company.

Consolidated revenue was Rs 6,299 crore in FY24, up by 30 per cent as compared to the previous year while Profit Before Tax was Rs 217 crore (before exceptional items) as compared to a loss of Rs 31 crore in FY23, she said.

Despite certain challenges, REL has stayed on course to grow steadily. All four businesses have reported another profitable year, she said.

During the fiscal, Care Health Insurance and Religare Broking Ltd have reported their best performance to date.

"We remain optimistic about the future of all the businesses and are confident in our ability to continue delivering value to all our stakeholders. Care Health Insurance posted an all-time high premium collection of Rs 7,022 crore in FY24.

"Our Securities Broking business registered a bumper year of growth with income amounting to Rs 368 crore for FY24, a jump of 29 per cent as compared to the previous year," she said.

While the Housing Finance business reported another profitable year, RFL has become debt-free and is ready to start the operations, she added.