Financial services – it’s a broad umbrella term under which we tend to club a host of companies. But just because we call them financial services, it would be unwise to view them through the same lens. Each segment is an industry in itself, and governed by different operating matrices. For example, a housing finance company may be happy with 10% net margins, but for an average asset management company (AMC) the figure would be over 30%. Similarly, gold loan companies have great NPA provisioning abilities – but their margins are not very high. Also, their ability to skirt regulations is higher than most others. There is, however, one thing common to the companies in the financial space. All of them have been through a process where the RBI or some other regulator has had a close look at them. Is that process over? Has the time come to look at them without bias and fear?
