IDFC classified as infrastructure finance company

IDFC has been classified by the Reserve Bank of India as infrastructure finance company within overall classification of Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC), the term lender informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The status given to the company would allow it mobilise funds at lower cost and get flexibility in the infrastructure lending, sources said.

In February, RBI had created a separate entity for NBFC -- Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFCs)-- as infrastructure plays a critical role in the growth of economy.
IFCs are not subject to the borrower limits, which restrict NBFCs from lending to any single borrower by 10 per cent of its owned fund, and any single group of borrowers by 15 per cent of its owned fund.Recently, RBI allowed these companies to raise money from overseas markets through the automatic route.

As such, IFCs can now raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs) up to 50 per cent of their owned funds automatically. So far, they could do so only under the approval route.
Shares of IDFC was trading at Rs 170.80, up 1.4 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.