Wikipedia

Piramal Finance

(Redirected from Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited)

Piramal Finance Limited (PFL) is an Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) headquartered in Mumbai, India. Following a corporate restructuring in September 2025, it serves as the consolidated financial services entity of the Piramal Group. The company was originally incorporated in 1984 as Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL).[2] In 2021, DHFL was acquired by Piramal Capital & Housing Finance for ₹34,250 crore following insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Piramal Finance Limited
TypePrivate
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedApril 11, 1984; 42 years ago (1984-04-11)
Headquarters
Mumbai
,
India
Key people
  • Ajay Piramal (Chairman, Piramal Group)
  • Anand Piramal (Chairman, Piramal Finance)
  • Jairam Sridharan (MD & CEO)
Products
  • Home loans
  • Business loans
  • Corporate financing
  • Loans against property
  • Personal loans
  • Loans against mutual funds
Revenue
  • Increase ₹10,270 crore (FY2025)
₹6,712 crore (2023-24)
Increase ₹485 crore (2024-25)
AUM₹1,00,000 crore (Dec 2025)[1]
Number of employees
16,422+ (2026)
ParentPiramal Group
Websitepiramalfinance.com

In April 2025, the company transitioned from a Housing Finance Company (HFC) designation to an Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC) classification by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).[3] This shift was followed by an "upper-layer" regulatory classification. In September 2025, the company executed a reverse merger with its parent entity, Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL), to consolidate the group's financial services business into a single public listed entity. Piramal Finance's credit operations are organized into retail housing, MSME lending, and a "Wholesale 2.0" portfolio that includes real estate and corporate mid-market loans.

History

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Background and DHFL period (1984–2018)

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The company was incorporated in 1984 as Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL).[2][4] It expanded through several acquisitions, including the 2010 purchase of Deutsche Postbank's Indian home finance unit for ₹1,079 crore and the acquisition of a majority stake in DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance in 2013.[5]

Governance failure and insolvency (2019–2021)

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Between 2019 and 2021, the company underwent a restructuring following allegations of financial impropriety and regulatory intervention.[2] In January 2019, investigative reports alleged the siphoning of approximately ₹31,000 crore through shell companies, a claim denied by the company's management.[6][7] Despite initial credit rating stability, DHFL defaulted on debt repayments in June 2019, leading to a loss in market valuation.[2][8][9] Consequently, on 20 November 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the company's board, citing governance failures and payment defaults. This marked the first instance where the RBI invoked the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against a financial services provider.[10][11]

Acquisition by Piramal and reorganization (2021–present)

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The restructuring concluded in September 2021 when the Piramal Group acquired DHFL for a total consideration of ₹34,250 crore through the Committee of Creditors process.[12] As part of the resolution plan, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited (PCHFL) was merged into DHFL via a reverse merger structure, with the merged entity continuing operations under the PCHFL name to leverage the existing branch network and customer base.[13]

In April 2025, the RBI approved the company's transition from a Housing Finance Company (HFC) to a Non-Banking Financial Company – Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC).[14] The company subsequently surrendered its HFC license and was renamed Piramal Finance Limited to align with its strategic focus on retail and MSME lending. In May 2025, Piramal Enterprises Limited announced a proposed merger of Piramal Finance into the parent entity to improve capital efficiency.[15] The reverse merger with Piramal Enterprises was completed in September 2025, resulting in a unified, publicly listed financial services entity.[16]

Operations

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As of December 2025, Piramal Finance's total assets under management (AUM) reached ₹96,690 crore following its regulatory reclassification from a Housing Finance Company (HFC) to an Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC).[17]

The retail division comprises approximately 82% of the total credit portfolio.[17] This segment primarily consists of mortgage-backed loans, including residential housing finance and loans against property, with an average mortgage ticket size of ₹15 lakh focused on Tier II and Tier III cities. The retail division also includes micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) credit facilities, along with smaller portfolios in unsecured personal loans and used-vehicle financing.[17]

The wholesale division is managed under two distinct categories. The Wholesale 2.0 framework accounts for roughly 13% of the AUM. Established under a 2021 risk-management protocol to limit single-entity exposure, this framework provides construction finance to residential developers and term loans to mid-market corporate entities across smaller-scale projects. The remaining 5% of the AUM constitutes the legacy wholesale book. This portfolio consists of large-ticket real estate developer loans and stressed assets inherited from the 2021 acquisition of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), which are managed through a dedicated recovery and divestment process.[18]

The company operates a distribution network consisting of 518 branches located across 26 states and 429 cities.[17]

Operational funding is sourced through equity, domestic bank borrowings, and international credit lines. In early 2026, the firm secured a US$350 million financing agreement from the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank to support its affordable housing and MSME lending portfolios.[19] Risk mitigation protocols rely on automated underwriting systems alongside co-lending partnerships with scheduled commercial banks to manage liquidity.[18]

Subsidiaries

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Pramerica life insurance

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Pramerica Life Insurance Limited is a joint venture between Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited (PCHFL) and Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Prudential Financial, Inc., USA.[20] The company was established on September 1, 2008, as DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Company Ltd. joint venture between DLF Limited & Prudential Financial.[21]

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SEBI insider-trading investigation

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In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India concluded a settlement with the former managing director of Piramal Capital & Housing Finance and associated parties in relation to an investigation into alleged insider trading in shares of Piramal Enterprises.[22] The settlement involved the payment of approximately ₹43.5 crore without admission or denial of wrongdoing under SEBI's settlement mechanism.[23][24][25]

Financial irregularities and probes against DHFL

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In 2019, DHFL stopped payment of bonds and defaulted on its loan obligations. This caused its stock to fall over 97% and a government intervention in the company.[26][27][28][29][30]

In August 2019, as efforts to draft a resolution plan by restructuring DHFL debt into equity, a few of the DHFL bond holders moved to the debt recovery tribunal, which could impact the resolution process.[31] The company meanwhile offered to repay all investors in full with due process of inter-creditor-agreement.[32]

In October 2019, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at several places of DHFL offices and promoter residences and found links of money laundering activity in loans given to firms closely linked to the promoters of the company.[33] Additionally the trail of the loan given by DHFL to Sunblink real estate in 2010 lead to gangster Iqbal Mirchi, an accomplice of the organized crime mastermind Dawood Ibrahim.[34]

On 20 November 2019, under Section 45-IE (I) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Indian central bank removed the board of directors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). The reasons cited by the banking regulator for the dismissal of the DHFL board of directors were: inadequate governance and the various defaults on its payment obligations.[35]

On 27 January 2020, the promoter of DHFL, Kapil Wadhawan was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrest was connected to his firm's alleged involvement in providing loans to the organized criminal enterprise of Dawood Ibrahim.[36] On 22 February 2020, the PMLA court granted bail to Kapil Wadhwan. The Bombay high court upheld the bail decision by PMLA court, rejecting Indian Enforcement Directorate requests to stay the bail application.[37]

The ED has linked Yes Bank for various fraud and transactions amounting to 3700 crores as debentures in DHFL. The central bank appointed administrator at Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) has ordered a transaction audit at the non-bank lender after allegations of money laundering surfaced in the aftermath of the regulatory action on Yes Bank.[38]

On 24 March 2021, CBI filed a new suit against DHFL and its promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, wherein the later were accused of syphoning off the welfare subsidy fund of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by creating 260,000 fake home loan accounts under the same scheme under the guise of a non-existent branch.[39][40] The suit says, fake loans were granted worth ₹14,046 crore of which ₹11,755.79 crore were routed to shell corporations and citing these loans, subsidy amounts were claimed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.[41][42]

In September 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached DHFL assets worth ₹186 crore (US$19 million) in a bank fraud case.[43]

References

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  1. ↑ "Piramal Finance posts ₹1,506 crore PAT in FY26, AUM crosses ₹1 lakh crore". BusinessLine. 27 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Sage Journals: Discover world-class research". Sage Journals. doi:10.1177/0972820121998824. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Piramal Capital gets RBI nod to operate as NBFC-ICC - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "DHFL: Building on current enthusiasm around affordable housing". www.forbesindia.com. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Dewan Housing Finance Ltd" (PDF). HDFC Securities.
  6. ↑ ":: Cobrapost ::". cobrapost.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Pandey, Devesh K. (22 June 2022). "CBI books DHFL and its promoters for alleged ₹34,615-crore bank fraud". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "News portal alleges Rs 31,000 crore fraud by home finance company DHFL - Times of India ►". The Times of India. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. ↑ "Closely guarded mechanism "Bandra Book" used to divert Rs 11,549 crore: ED". The Indian Express. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "DHFL tanks 16% after rating downgrade; what should investors do?". Moneycontrol. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Mahesh, Prashant (7 June 2019). "Debt mutual funds take a tumble as DHFL slips on payment". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "Piramal Group completes DHFL acquisition in total consideration of ₹34,250 crore". 29 September 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  13. ↑ Mishra, Lalatendu (29 September 2021). "Piramal group acquires DHFL, pays ₹14,700 crore in cash". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Piramal Capital receives RBI nod to operate as NBFC-ICC". Financialexpress. 8 April 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  15. ↑ "Piramal Enterprises to merge Piramal Finance with parent entity". business-standard.com. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Piramal Enterprises approves merger of Piramal Finance". The Economic Times. 16 May 2025.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "Piramal Finance Reports ₹96,690 Crore AUM & Expands Retail Lending Share To 82% By FY26". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Piramal Enterprises Ltd" (PDF). HDFC Secrities.
  19. ↑ "Piramal Finance raises $350 mn from IFC, ADB in first DFI deal". VCCircle. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "DHFL owes ₹87,000 crore to banks and bondholders, including State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corp. of India, Union Bank of India and many other foreign and domestic lenders". Hindustan Times. 4 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "'Pramerica Life targets Rs 3,000-crore GWP in FY26,' Pankaj Gupta". Financialexpress. 3 April 2025.
  22. ↑ "Former Piramal Capital MD settles SEBI insider trading case". The Times of India. 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  23. ↑ "Piramal co MD, two others pay RS 44 crore to settle Sebi probe". The Times of India. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  24. ↑ "Piramal Capital Ex-MD Settles Insider Trading Case with Sebi". Rediff. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  25. ↑ "SEBI's Settlement Order In Piramal Insider Trading Case: All You Need To Know About The Terms". NDTV.
  26. ↑ "Why Dewan Housing Finance share price fell up to 15% in early trade today". businesstoday.in. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  27. ↑ Borate, Neil (21 May 2019). "DHFL puts fresh deposits and renewals on hold, halts pre-mature withdrawals". Mint. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  28. ↑ Borate, Ravindra N. Sonavane, Neil (22 May 2019). "DHFL falls nearly 10% as company stops accepting fresh deposits, halts renewals". Mint. Retrieved 25 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ↑ Roy, Anup (31 January 2019). "Govt launches probe against DHFL, issue may hit sector investment". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  30. ↑ "YES Bank share price loses 30% on surprise Rs 1,506-crore net loss in Q4". businesstoday.in. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  31. ↑ Ghosh, Shayan (23 September 2019). "Use of insolvency code in Dewan Housing will expedite resolution process". Mint. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  32. ↑ Das, Saikat; Rebello, Joel (28 September 2019). "DHFL offers to repay investors in full, but seeks nod for ICA". The Economic Times. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  33. ↑ "Debt-laden DHFL loaned to firms tied to its promoters: ED probe". The Indian Express. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  34. ↑ "DHFL News: DHFL lent Rs 2,186 crore to company under lens for Mirchi links, ED investigations reveal". The Economic Times.
  35. ↑ "Reserve Bank of India - Press Releases". Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  36. ↑ "DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan arrested in Iqbal Mirchi money laundering case". 27 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020.
  37. ↑ "Cricket matches in Wankhede to disrupt normal traffic in South Mumbai". 8 March 2020.
  38. ↑ "Crisis-Hit Yes Bank Founder Rana Kapoor's Wife, Daughters Charged By CBI". NDTV.com. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  39. ↑ "CBI books DHFL over fake accounts created in PMAY". mint. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  40. ↑ "DHFL Share Price Hits Lower Circuit After CBI Books Promoters For Creating Fake Accounts". Moneycontrol. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  41. ↑ "CBI books DHFL for creating over 2 lakh fake home loan accounts under PMAY". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  42. ↑ "DHFL directors availed thousands of crores through fake loan accounts under PMAY: CBI". www.businesstoday.in. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  43. ↑ "DHFL loan fraud case: ED attaches assets worth ₹185.84 cr". Hindustan Times. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 10 September 2025.
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