Indiabulls Housing filed 10 insolvency cases during Oct 9-25

Reflecting an increasing number of loan defaults by real estate developers, which have, in turn, hit the non-banking finance companies recently, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd dragged at least 10 borrowers to insolvency court in October. The company recently said its portfolio comprises “leading developers” in key metro cities and that majority of the portfolio is backed by leased discounting assets with leading multinational companies. Notwithstanding this statement, recent filings show that Indiabulls Housing has filed winding up petition against many real estate developers for loan defaults. This is a move contrary to other housing finance companies, according to a review of the data by Cogencis. As per the data analysed by Cogencis, Indiabulls Housing Finance has filed at least 26 insolvency cases in the current financial year. These companies are predominantly real estate developers, hospitality and construction firms. Of these, only five cases were filed in Apr-Jun and 11 in the following quarter. However, between Oct 9 and Oct 25, Indiabulls Housing filed insolvency petitions against 10 companies, which includes one belonging to the Amrapali Group. The cases filed in October also include popular Mumbai-based developer Aura Realtors, which has executed projects such as Adani Western Heights for the Adani Group. While there is nothing unusual in a secured financial creditor filing insolvency petition against a defaulter, it is not a mechanism widely resorted to by housing finance companies. Verified records of the National Company Law Tribunal do not show other major housing finance companies having filed insolvency cases against real estate developers during the current financial year.