The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will seek early redemption of about Rs 700 crore worth of bonds of troubled mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance Corp.Ltd(DHFL) to safeguard workers’ savings.
In 10-year bonds of DHFL that mature in 2024, the retirement fund manager will exercise an early exit option to redeem investments, said Prabhakar Banasure, a member of the finance investment committee of EPFO. Since mid-June, the investment committee of the retirement fund manager has met four times to discuss ways to recover the investments. It redeemed Rs 201 crore in two tranches, following at least two rounds of deliberation with DHFL officials in June last, according to official documents reviewed by media. The EPFO action comes as it struggles to recover Rs 574 crore of its bond investments in crisis-ridden shadow lender Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd(IL&FS).
In 2018, DHFL is among the companies worst hit by the liquidity crisis triggered by the payment defaults by IL&FS. The crisis shook investor confidence in non-banks and dried up access to financing for them from banks as well as bond markets.
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