HDFC to raise Rs 25,000 cr through NCDs

Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) plans to raise up to Rs 25,000 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in the current financial year through private placements.

Ratings agency Crisil has assigned a ‘AAA/ Stable’ rating to the Rs 25,000-crore NCD programme. “The rating is valid till the end of the current financial year. All the issues will be through private placement and we don’t have any plans for a retail issue,” said HDFC Chief Executive Officer Keki Mistry.

Crisil has also reaffirmed its rating on HDFC’s existing outstanding NCD’s worth Rs 85,000 crore and bonds aggregating Rs 19,785 crore at ‘AAA/Stable’.

“Crisil believes HDFC will maintain its strong credit risk profile on the back of strong asset quality, healthy capitalisation and profitability. It also believes HDFC’s strong fundamentals will enable the company to withstand competition in the housing finance market and support the current ratings,” the ratings agency said in a press release.

The agency noted the rating strengths were partially offset by HDFC’s exposure to increasing competition in the housing finance segment.

“The outlook may, however, be revised to ‘Negative’ if the company’s profitability declines steeply or if its asset-liability mismatches increase substantially,” the release said.