RBI halted two Bajaj Finance lending products over missing and deficient borrower disclosures
Company: Bajaj Finance Limited
Summary
On November 15, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India directed Bajaj Finance Limited to stop sanctioning and disbursing loans through its eCOM and Insta EMI Card products. RBI stated that the company had not adhered to digital-lending requirements, particularly because it did not issue Key Facts Statements to borrowers using those two products and because Key Facts Statements for other digital loans were deficient. Key Facts Statements are intended to give borrowers standardized information about the cost and essential terms of a loan before they commit. The RBI action therefore concerned transparency and borrower information, not merely a technical reporting deadline. Bajaj Finance disclosed the order in its annual report and separately reported a ₹850,000 penalty for delayed fraud reporting during financial year 2021–22; this Rotten Company record concerns only the substantially more consequential product restriction and does not combine the separate penalty. On May 2, 2024, RBI lifted the restrictions after Bajaj Finance took remedial action. The company could then resume sanctioning and disbursing loans under the two products. The matter is therefore marked resolved, with the event ending on the date the restriction was lifted. The record describes a regulator finding and temporary supervisory restriction; it does not allege that every loan issued through the products harmed a borrower. Primary corporate disclosure reproducing and describing the RBI orders — Bajaj Finance annual report: https://www.bajajfinserv.in/finance-digital-annual-report-fy24/bajaj-finance-ltd-ar-2023-24-assets/pdf/director-report.pdf Supplementary report on RBI's removal of the restrictions: https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/bajaj-finance-to-resume-lending-via-ecom-insta-emi-card-as-rbi-lifts-curbs-124050201221_1.html
Record details
- Category
- Deceptive Practices
- When it happened
- November 15, 2023–May 2, 2024
- Status
- Resolved (May 2, 2024)
- Severity
- high
- Added to Rotten Company
Source
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