Ratings agency ICRA has said that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI’s) draft circular on dividend distribution by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) is unlikely to impact most of the industry players. The RBI has proposed that NBFCs should have at least 15 per cent Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) for the last 3 years, including the accounting year for which it proposes to declare a dividend. The RBI sought comments on the draft circular from NBFCs, industry participants and other interested parties by December 24.
According to ICRA, over the last three years, dividend pay-out ratios have been about 10-20 per cent for most entities, with few in the range of 20-30 per cent. It expects most NBFCs to comfortably meet the CAR (Capital Adequacy Ratio) criteria but a few entities having high NPAs would find it difficult to meet the net NPA filter and thus dividend payout for them could be impacted, if this circular is implemented. It noted that while HFCs (housing finance companies) have not been specifically mentioned in this draft, meeting the CAR criteria would be relatively easier given the lower risk weights on the large part of their portfolio.
Furthermore, the Net NPA criteria specified for NBFCs may not be a constraint for HFCs to pay out dividend considering the low NPAs for the segment currently. The ratings agency said ‘NBFCs complying with the minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratio or leverage ratio for the last three years and having net NPA below 6 per cent in each of the last three years can declare dividends with a pay-out ratio of up to 50 per cent or as per the matrix proposed by the RBI’.
MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.
To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.
MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through: