Avoid banks and NBFCs with high proportion of unsecured and SME loans

Longer-term investors with a three-five-year horizon have an opportunity to pick quality stocks, which in calmer times tend to trade at exorbitant valuations

The banking and financial sector is among the worst hit in the current downturn. While the Nifty 50 has declined 27.1 per cent over the past three months, the Nifty Bank index has nosedived 39.4 per cent over the same period. The steep correction, however, presents longer-term investors with good entry points into quality stocks within this sector.  

This sector’s prospects are bound closely to that of the economy. And with economic growth poised to slow down considerably—the International Monetary Fund has projected a GDP growth rate of 1.9 per cent in FY21—the banking and financial sector will bear the