Bajaj Finance drops 5.5% as RBI draft rules put flexi-loan model in focus
Bajaj Finance lost more than ₹33,500 crore in market value after RBI proposed norms that could restrict NBFCs to term loans and curb revolving-credit products. The draft rules may affect the lender’s flexi-loan portfolio, estimated at nearly a quarter of AUM, with implications for growth and fee income.
What happened
Bajaj Finance fell 5.5% after RBI proposed restricting NBFCs to term loans and barring revolving-credit products. The rules could affect its flexi-loan
Key facts
- Bajaj Finance shares fell 5.5% to ₹1,086
- Over ₹33,500 crore erased from market capitalisation
- Market capitalisation declined from ₹7.15 trillion to ₹6.82 trillion
- BSE Financial Services index fell 0.96% intraday
- Other financial stocks declined 2-3%
- Flexi loans estimated at nearly 25% of Bajaj Finance AUM
Why this matters
Retail and fintech deal teams should reassess dependence on revolving-credit NBFC partners and explore term-loan, bank, and multi-lender alternatives.
What to watch
- RBI consultation deadline, final circular language and effective date.
- Whether existing flexi-loans are grandfathered, can retain redraws, or must be converted.
- Definitions of term loan, revolving credit, overdraft, top-up and repeat borrowing in the final rules.
- Bajaj Finance disclosure of flexi-loan AUM share, yield, fee income, borrower behavior and expected transition costs.
- Management commentary on AUM-growth guidance, NIM, credit costs and product redesign.
- Peer disclosures from major NBFCs and bank lenders on exposure to revolving or line-of-credit products.
- Any concurrent RBI actions on unsecured consumer credit, capital requirements, provisioning or liquidity.
- Map flexi-loan AUM, customer cohorts, redraw frequency, fee contribution and incremental credit-loss behavior under a term-loan conversion.
- Prepare compliant replacement products with fixed tenor, clearer repayment schedules and automated top-up/refinance workflows.
- Engage RBI during consultation on customer-transition mechanics, treatment of existing loans, operational feasibility and unintended borrower-cost effects.
- Recalibrate FY growth, NIM, fee-income and opex guidance; communicate the range of outcomes and mitigation plan to investors.
- Monitor whether banks, fintech partners and peer NBFCs alter competing credit-product structures or pricing.