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.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of bank credit allocation to non-financial companies in the Indian corporate sector over a long period of twenty-eight years. The authors also conduct a micro-level analysis in the backdrop of recent banking scams in the country which exposed the fragility and quality of the banks' governance in reducing misappropriation of bank credit. The book brings a broader perspective to assess whether weak banks are rolling over their loans to less-deserving firms and tending to avoid declaring them as non-performing assets (NPAs). It contributes to understanding the nature of the maladies beyond the conventional approach of studying the trends in NPAs and provides a deeper insight into the structural challenges that determine the allocation of bank credit in the economy and of capital formation at large.