Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. announced on Friday that the company will immediately implement the Reserve Bank of India’s order by halting any recovery or redemption activities through outsourcing arrangements.
The Mumbai-based non-bank financial firm confiscates about 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles a month, using the third-party agencies and its own staff in the ordinary course of business, according to an exchange report.
However, following the RBI order, the company expects that number to drop temporarily by around 3,000 to 4,000 per month. The Central Bank has permitted the NBFC to continue to carry out collection or redemption activities through its own staff.
In response to the latest development, the company’s shares fell 12% to £196 per share on the National Stock Exchange on Friday.
This comes days after a pregnant woman was killed under the wheels of a tractor as it was being forcibly removed by salvage officers belonging to the MMFSL in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand. According to an agency report, the farmer had borrowed 1.3 lakh from Mahindra Finance to buy a tractor and as he was unable to pay, his tractor was confiscated. The loan collector allegedly drove away with the tractor, which was parked at a gas pump, prompting the farmer to chase after the vehicle. During the scuffle, the farmer’s pregnant daughter, who tried to intervene, fell under the wheels of the tractor.
In its Thursday order, RBI said the move was based on certain key regulatory concerns identified at NBFC in relation to the management of its outsourcing activities.
On August 12, the central bank said debt collectors who resort to intimidation or harassment of their customers will face severe regulatory action. RBI cracked down on unlawful loan recovery practices, reiterating that they have ultimate responsibility for outsourced activities of their regulated entities and are therefore accountable for the actions of their service providers, including collection agents.
Banks and other financial institutions covered in the August 12 circular were advised to ensure that they or their representatives “do not engage in intimidation or harassment of any kind,” including verbal or physical harassment. The RBI has said that to collect debts, it must not engage in any activity aimed at publicly humiliating the debtors’ family members, arbitrators and friends, or to invade privacy by sending inappropriate messages either on cell phones or through social media .
Fortune India reported earlier this week that Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services had breached its own policies in the latest incident.
Sharing a business update, the company said that the number of contracts in phase 3 was 1.35 lakh and that it had sufficient reserve of 58% for those assets (including 100% reserve for contracts over 18 months old) as of 30 December 2018 June had , 2022.
Most of the vehicles being taken back are classified as Tier 3 and therefore this temporary halt to take-back activities using third-party agencies is not expected to have a material impact on finances or on Tier 3 net, he added.
Meanwhile, Mahindra Finance said it has not outsourced any collections activities in its vehicle financing business to third-party agencies and therefore the company does not expect any impact on collections activities in this business.
