Brokerage Sharekhan to include ESG rating of stocks in research reports

To help its customers take well-informed investment decisions, brokerage Sharekhan has decided to include ESG (environment, social and governance) rating of stocks in its research report going forward.

The full-service brokerage has tied up with MorningStar India for getting these ratings, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said in a statement on Monday.

This tie-up will help traders and investors on Sharekhan platform take a complete view of the companies, Jaideep Arora, CEO of the brokerage said, adding the ESG rating will help assist customers looking to invest in companies that are thinking of the future. ESG is an integral part of BNP Paribas's approach and strategy globally and we believe it is important for our customer here too.

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HomeFirst Finance reports Rs 45 cr profit in Jul-Sept *

HomeFirst Finance has reported a Rs 45 crore net profit for the quarter to September, up from Rs 14 crore in the year-ago period on robust loan disbursements, which rose 112 per cent rose to Rs 515 crore.

The NBFC said its assets under management rose 23.8 per cent to Rs 4,617 crore, led by small ticket housing loans that contributed 92 per cent of the AUM. The NBFC is present in 12 states and one UT with 72 branches.

Its total income rose to Rs 146 crore from Rs 109 crore, the company said.

Gross bad loan ratio rose on annualised basis to 1.7 per cent from 0.9 per cent annualised but improved by 20 bps sequentially while net NPA was flat at 1.2 per cent, the company said.

The company made provision of Rs 49.6 crore in the quarter resulting in total provision to loans outstanding ratio at 1.3 per cent, and the NPA provision coverage ratio is to 77.4 per cent. Total borrowings including debt securities stood at Rs 3,075 crore up from Rs 2,637 crore and it carries liquidity of Rs 1,400 crore.