CBT to decide; wary of downgrades, fund may seek early re-payment from troubled firms
Worried about the spate of defaults and downgrades among non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is planning to seek early re-payment of some of its investments from troubled firms in the sector, such as DHFL. Sources close to the development said the issue was discussed by the EPFO’s Finance, Investment and Audit Committee (FIAC) at its meeting earlier this month.
“EPFO has been monitoring the downgrades of certain NBFCs. There is a view that it should seek pre-payment of its investments in any troubled NBFC to avoid any default and loss of money,” said a person familiar with the development, adding that the first priority is to ensure safety of workers’ retirement savings. The FIAC is a sub-committee of the EPFO’s apex decision-making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). It met in Mumbai to review the performance of the portfolio managers, discuss the appointment of new portfolio managers, and analyses the investments for the retirement fund corpus. However, a final decision on pulling back investments from select NBFCs will be taken by the CBT, which is chaired by the Union Labour and Employment Minister, after the new government takes office. “As of now, it is wait and watch, maybe there will be an upgrade in the ratings. There is no need to panic,” the sources said, adding that a meeting of the CBT will be called in June or July. The sources stressed that EPFO investments in NBFCs are not very significant, adding that till now there have been no defaults by any firms in which it has invested. The move comes after the EPFO’s difficulties with its investments in debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Company.
Exposure in IL&FS
Data with the Standing Committee on Labour pegs the investment by the EPFO in IL&FS at Rs. 574.73 crore. As on March 31, 2018, the EPFO’s total debt corpus was at Rs. 9.78 lakh crore, of which only a small part is expected to be in the NBFC sector. It is not clear which NBFCs the EPFO has invested in. In an affidavit to the National Companies Law Appellate Tribunal, IL&FS said it cannot immediately repay the Rs. 9,134 crore investments by pension and provident funds as it will impact the IBC-led resolution process. This makes it tricky for exempted firms, which manage the retirement savings of their employees on their own; they will have to make good any losses from investments in IL&FS and other risky firms. “Unlike the EPFO, exempt trusts don’t have the muscle to seek pre-payment of investments from NBFCs,” said an investment manager for such firms. After demonetisation, NBFCs gave some of the best returns, and there was little choice for investing in paper of PSUs, the manager added.
