 "IL&FS, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd")
A tad late, but the message is finally reaching India’s regulators: Infrastructure lender IL&FS is not a business that can be allowed to fail without consequences. An unusual Sunday evening joint statement by the securities regulator and the central bank suggests a much-needed awareness of systemic risks.
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. is a sprawling nonbank institution that used its highly rated paper to chalk up $12.5 billion of debt, which it funneled into the financing of long-term assets like roads, townships and water-treatment plants. Most of these businesses are owned by IL&FS-linked operating companies.
The opacity masked growing
