Janalakshmi downgrades could weigh on debt MFs

Industry men say Janalakshmi is in process of raising equity capital to improve its financial situation

Two back to back downgrades of Janalakshmi Financial Services' debentures is likely to weigh on the mutual fund industry. At the end of June 2017, over a dozen fund houses, across 60 different schemes, had exposure to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore to high-yielding debt papers of Janalakshmi, data provided by Value Research shows.

DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund, UTI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund and DHFL Pramerica Mutual Fund are among the fund houses with highest exposure. Most of the debentures issued by Janalakshmi have coupon rates of as much as 13.5 per cent and maturity in