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Bloomberg
Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, a major Indian shadow lender that’s caught in the crosshairs of the troubles plaguing the industry, is seeking to bring forward a court hearing on fraud allegations after a record share slump.
The development represents an effort to get out ahead of recent headlines that contributed to its share price losing an unprecedented 34 percent slump.
Shares rebounded 5 percent on Tuesday.
An Indian court and the police moved to begin separate investigations to examine allegations of fraud and misappropriation against Indiabulls and Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd, with which it has sought approval to merge.
“We have finally got an opportunity to put out in the public domain what we have anyway been sharing with regulatory agencies,†GaganBanga, managing director of Indiabulls, said in an investor call.
The court hearing is currently scheduled for mid-December.
The non-bank financier is moving applications for an earlier hearing of the petition.
India has been rocked by a crisis among shadow banks, whose lending has been a lifeblood for everyone from small merchants to tycoons. The non-bank financing companies’ balance sheets have come under greater scrutiny after the collapse of IL&FS last year highlighted broader debt concerns.
Both Indiabulls and its target Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd are seeking to increase profitability and bolster capital as the crisis in the shadow banking sector drags on.
India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs has also been investigating three Indiabulls Group companies since about a year and will submit its final report by the end of October, according to people familiar with the matter.