Collection ratios in securitised pools have fallen during the 2nd wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to rating agency Crisil. This is because of lockdown, which impacted businesses, and lack of moratorium from lenders meant that borrowers could not delay their debt payments, Crisil said. Also, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have been reworking their collection process by adopting more electronic modes such as auto-debit, payment gateways, and dedicated applications, Crisil stated.

“In the first wave, collections decreased as the majority of borrowers availed of moratorium relief and collections staff were not able to move around due to the strict lockdowns,” said Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director and Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, Crisil Ratings. “This assisted many financing entities in examining digital collection that has played an important role in stopping a similar decline in collections during the second wave,” Sitaraman told.

“Such productivity improvement was one of the reasons for the speedy recovery in collection ratios of securitised pools during the second half of last fiscal year. Moreover, as businesses set up online modes for business continuity, their cash flows become less likely to division, Crisil added.