DHFL defaults again on bond repayments of over ₹1,500 cr

The troubled Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) has reported that it has defaulted on repayments of ₹1,570 crore across three debt instruments.

This is one of the largest defaults by the cash-strapped company till date.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, DHFL said that it had defaulted on two series of non-convertible debentures as well as commercial paper on August 16.

This includes ₹46.92 crore towards interest on 10-year secured NCDs carrying 9.92 per cent and 9.4 per cent tenor with one investor.

It has also defaulted on repayment of interest of ₹363.77 crore and principal amount of ₹1,059.91 crore on secured NCDs of varying maturities and tenor held by 25,058 investors. Additionally, it defaulted on unsecured commercial paper of ₹100 crore with one investor.

The total principal on which the defaults occurred amounted to ₹5,674.58 crore.

The company has been in the midst of a liquidity crisis since last September and has not been able to meet most of its debt obligations.

This latest defaults come in the wake of the company submitting a debt resolution plan to its lenders.

DHFL’s resolution plan, which was cleared by its board and submitted to the consortium of lenders earlier this month, has promised lenders that they will not take any haircut.

The company has sought a moratorium on repayments and fresh funding from banks and the National Housing Board to restart retail lending.

As of December 31, 2018, DHFL had outstandings of over ₹1-lakh crore, of which 38 per cent was from banks and 47 per cent as debt borrowing.

Some 30 banks have a collective exposure of ₹40,000 crore to DHFL.