|
|
| Product | Quantum (Rs. Cr) (SEBI) | Quantum (Rs. Cr) (Other FSR) | Long Term Rating | Short Term Rating | Regulated By |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 100.00 | 0.00 | ACUITE A | Stable | Assigned | Provisional To Final | - | SEBI |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 100.00 | 0.00 | ACUITE A | Stable | Reaffirmed | - | SEBI |
| Non Convertible Debentures (NCD) | 0.00 | 22.90 | Not Applicable | Withdrawn | - | MCA |
| Total Outstanding | 200.00 | 0.00 | - | - | - |
| Total Withdrawn | 0.00 | 22.90 | - | - | - |
| Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available. |
|
Rating Rationale |
|
Acuite has reaffirmed the long term rating of ' ACUITE A' (read as ACUITE A) on the Rs 100.00 Cr. Non-Convertible Debenture facilities of Vedika Credit Capital Limited (VCCL). The outlook is ‘Stable’.
Acuite has assigned and converted from Provisional to Final long term rating of 'ACUITE A' (read as ACUITE A) on the Rs 100.00 Cr. Non-Convertible Debenture facilities of Vedika Credit Capital Limited (VCCL). The outlook is ‘Stable’. Acuité has withdrawn the long-term rating on the Rs. 22.90 Cr. Non-Convertible Debenture facilities of Vedika Credit Capital Limited (VCCL) without assigning any rating on account of redemption of the facility and the No Dues Certificate received from the respective debenture trustee and the withdrawal is in line with Acuite's policy of withdrawal of the specific facility/ instrument. Rationale for the rating The rating factors in comfortable capitalization levels, steady financial performance, comfortable asset quality metrics coupled with healthy provision buffers. The company's total AUM increased to Rs 1780.91 Cr. as on March 31, 2026 from Rs 1452.30 Cr. Cr. as on March 31, 2025. The company reported a PAT of Rs. 30.78 Cr. in FY2025 which improved to Rs 35.53 Cr. in FY2026. The GNPA for VCCL has improved reaching 1.33% for FY 26 as against 2.06% for FY25. The rating factors continues to factor in the credit enhancement in the form of a Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA) mechanism along with a T-n structure on the entire NCD facility of Rs. 200 Cr. The rating continues to factor in the long standing presence of the company in the microfinance sector adequate liquidity profile and comfortable resources raising ability. However, the rating is constrained by VCCL’s moderate scale of operations, relatively leveraged capital structure and asset quality levels albeit improving. The gearing for the company has increased from 3.45x as on March 31, 2025 to 4.65x as on March 31, 2026. Going forward, VCCL’s ability to raise capital and profitably grow its loan portfolio while maintaining leverage at prudent levels will be a key monitorable. The rating on the Rs.100.00 Cr. NCD for VCCL is converted from provisional to final rating as Acuite has received the following : -Appointed SEBI registered Debenture Trustee details -Creation of requisite DSRA -Debenture Trust Deed -Final term sheet and confirmation from trustee regarding the compliance with all the terms and condition of term sheet. Additionally, Acuite has received the Hypothecation Agreement and Legal Opinion. |
| About the company |
|
Jharkhand based VCCL, is a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Micro Finance Institution (MFI) primarily engaged in extending Micro loans to women borrowers under the Joint Liability Group Model since 2007. The company has presence in 7 states, primarily in eastern India through a network of 178 branches as on March 31, 2026. The company was originally incorporated in 1995 by a different set of owners and subsequently, the company was taken over in 2004 by the promoters, Mr. Ummed Jain (Chairman) and his sons, Mr. Gautam Jain and Mr. Vikram Jain. Presently the promoters are Mr. Gautam Jain and Mr. Vikram Jain. Mr. Gautam Jain (Managing Director) and Mr. Vikram Jain (Whole time Director) was initially engaged in traditional financing and gradually instrumented his aim to transform his lending operations into a recognized and regulated NBFC-MFI - VCCL. The promoters are engaged in two wheeler financing through Vedika Fincorp Limited, a group company of VCCL.
|
| Unsupported Rating |
| Acuite BBB+/Stable |
| Analytical Approach |
| Acuité has adopted a standalone approach on VCCL’s business and financial risk profile for arriving at the rating. For the NCD facility, Acuite also factors in the presence of a DSRA in form of 15 percent of the issue size to be maintained in the form of cash/fixed deposit, “AA’ to‘AAA’ rated debt securities and sovereign debt securities ,in any combination, for the minimum duration covering the tenor of the NCDs along with the T structure. The differential in the ratings of regular NCD vis. a vis. the rating on the NCDs is on account of these structures. The notch-up is based on DSRA and T-n mechanism and structure being an Internal Credit Enhancement the suffix of CE is not required. |
| Key Rating Drivers |
| Strength |
| Established track record of operations
VCCL commenced its lending operations since 2007 through a mix of Individual loans and Microloans. VCCL has a 6-member Board led, of which three are independent Directors and one managing director, one Whole Time Director and one non executive director. The strong managerial base has supported the growth strategy of the company. The company has increased its geographical presence from three states, i.e. Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal in 2016 to seven states in 2023 by diversifying to Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha and increased network coverage from 44 branches as on March 31, 2016 to 178 branches as on March 31, 2026 ( saw a reduction from 192 branches). The company’s total AUM stood at Rs. 1780.91 Cr. as on March 31, 2026 as compared to Rs.1452.30 Cr. in FY25 and Rs.1379.50 Cr. in FY2024. The company has also leveraged its capital funds to finance its business growth. The company has strengthened its operational presence over the years by diversifying its geographical penetration along with lower dependence towards a single product. Microfinance loans are usually disbursed in clusters and are lent to marginal borrowers with limited ability to absorb income shocks. The management has judiciously improved its geographical penetration resulting in a diverse borrower base spread across various districts and geographies. For FY2026, West Bengal and Bihar contributed ~28 percent and ~26 percent of VCCL’s portfolio, respectively. The balance portfolio was distributed across Jharkhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh,Bihar, Odisha and Tripura. The company also has individual exposure through business loans and cross sale products in case of regulatory restrictions on lending through the normal microfinance channels. As on March 31, 2026, individual loans comprised ~63 percent of the owned AUM, with the balance being contributed by JLG loans and cross sales. The company plans to balance its risk metrics for business loans by migrating its existing customers from small to medium level, this change in product mix will help them in improving its fee income. The contribution of off book exposure to overall AUM has decreased to ~25 percent as on March 31, 2026 as against ~32 percent as on March 31, 2025. Acuité believes that VCCL’s established presence and long track record of operations in the area of operations will support its credit profile. Presence of a Structured Payment Mechanism The rating factors in the Structured Payment Mechanism (SPM) put in place by VCCL to ensure timely availability of funds for servicing of debt obligations. The rating on the Rs 200 Cr Issued NCD considers the presence of Structured Payment Mechanism upfront DSRA has been created to the extent of 15 % of the issue size to be maintained in the form of cash/fixed deposit, “AA’ to ‘AAA’ rated debt securities and sovereign debt securities, in any combination, for the minimum duration covering the tenor of the NCDs along with the T structure. The differential in the ratings of regular NCD vis. a vis. the rating on the NCDs is on account of these structures. The Debenture Trustee shall monitor the same and any shortfall persisting on T-5th day shall be met through transfer of requisite funds from the DSRA,(15% of the issue size). In case of any erosion from the DSRA, the same shall be required to be cured within 7 days (T+7). The rating is based on DSRA and T-n mechanism and structure being an Internal Credit Enhancement the suffix of CE is not required. Comfortable capitalization levels coupled with resources raising ability Capital Adequacy Ratio as on March 31, 2026 stood comfortable at 24.57 percent (Tier 1: 20.52 percent) as against 29.66 percent (Tier 1: 28.52 percent) in FY2025. Further, the company expects infusion of capital in near term which is expected to aid the current capital buffers and improve gearing. The company has borrowings in the form of term loans and Non convertible debentures from various PSU, MFI/NBFC and PVT Banks. The ability of the company to raise capital, to maintain its capital adequacy levels will be key monitorable. Healthy asset quality and financial performance Inspite of the ongoing challenges in the Microfinance industry, the asset quality profile of the company has been largely resilient and has seen an improvement in the Gross NPA which has improved to 1.33% as on March 31, 2026 from 2.06% in FY2025. Net NPA were nil on account of adequate provisions made by the company. The asset quality marked by its on time dpd portfolio stood at 96.18 percent for FY2026 as compared to 94.99 percent for FY2025 . |
| Weakness |
| Leveraged capital structure
VCCL engaged in unsecured lending to marginal income borrowers with limited ability to absorb income shocks. The company extends micro credit through the Joint Liability Group (JLG) model. It has over the years established a diverse resource base comprising of 30+ lenders. As on March 31, 2026 the company had a net worth of Rs. 318.68 Cr. as compared to Rs.284.43 Cr. as on March 31, 2025. The debt comprises of Term loans from Banks/FIs, NCDs and subordinated debt from FI’s. The total debt of the company stood at Rs. 1480.72 Cr. for FY 26 as against Rs. 980.03 Cr. for FY25. This increase in debt has seen a corresponding increase in the gearing from 3.45 times in FY25 to 4.65 times in FY26 respectively. Acuité believes the company’s ability to infuse equity capital as anticipated in the coming quarters and manage its gearing levels will be a key monitorable in the near future. |
| Assessment of Adequacy of Credit Enhancement under various scenarios including stress scenarios (applicable for ratings factoring specified support considerations with or without the “CE” suffix) |
|
Acuite takes into consideration the Structured Payment Mechanism (SPM) put in place by VCCL to ensure timely availability of funds for servicing of debt obligations. As per the structure, the Debenture Trustee shall monitor the same and any shortfall persisting on T-5th day shall be met through transfer of requisite funds from the DSRA. In case of any erosion from the DSRA, the same shall be required to be cured within 7 days (T+7). Stress case Scenario Acuite has stressed the projected cash flows against maturing repayment obligations and found that even in a stressed scenario, VCCL would be able to timely meet its scheduled repayment obligations. Further, Acuite believes that given adequacy of the structure and unconditional, irrevocable and legal enforceability, VCCL will be able to service its debt on time, even in a stress scenario |
| ESG Factors Relevant for Rating |
| Vedika Credit Capital Limited (VCCL) belongs to the NBFC sector which complements bank lending in India. Some of the material governance issues for the financial services sector are policies and practices with regard to business ethics, board diversity and independence, compensation structure for board and KMPs, role of the audit committee and shareholders’ rights. On the social aspect, some of the critical issues for the sector are the contributions to financial inclusion and community development, responsible financing including environmentally friendly projects and policies around data privacy. The industry, by nature has a low exposure to environmental risks. In terms of its business ethics, performance, the entity has maintained adequate disclosure regarding its Grievance Redressal, related party compliance and fair practice code. The board of directors of the company comprise of 3 independent directors out of a total of 6 directors with one female director. The entity has an audit committee, nomination and renumeration committee and corporate social responsibility committee. As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines, the NBFC has an IT policy to oversee its cybersecurity. VCCL has also maintained disclosures regarding renumeration of its directors and key managerial personnel (KMP). VCCL aims to empower entrepreneurs that have limited access to the banking sector in India, hence making an economic contribution by way of financial inclusion. It continues to work on several community development initiatives through its corporate social responsibility projects. |
Rating Sensitivity
| Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action: |
|
| Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action: |
|
| All Covenants |
|
Financial Covenants
The issuer shall maintain below mentioned during the entire tenor of the debentures and till all the amount outstanding have been duly repaid a) Total Debt/Tangible Net worth ratio to be within <= 5x All covenants would be tested on quarterly basis i.e. as on 31 March, 30 June, 30 Sept and 31 Dec every year, starting from Sept 30, 2025 on standalone balance sheet till the redemption of the NCDs. The covenants shall be certified by the statutory auditor of the Company within 45 (Forty-Five) calendar days from the end of each reporting quarter. In case of breach of any of the covenants, the Issuer shall pay additional coupon at the rate of 2 % (Two Percent) per annum over and above the applicable Coupon Rate on all amounts outstanding under the NCDs (including the Outstanding Principal amounts and any accrued but unpaid interest) from the date of occurrence of such a breach, until the NCDs are fully redeemed or till the covenants criteria has been replenished. |
| Liquidity Position |
| Adequate |
|
VCCL’s liquidity profile is adequate, with positive cumulative mismatches across most of the buckets as per the ALM statement as of March 31, 2026. Furthermore, the company has cash and cash equivalents of Rs. 247.68 Cr. as on March 31, 2026.The company has debt repayment obligations of Rs 714.89 Cr for FY27 as against collections from loans of Rs 827.31 Cr for the same period. |
| Outlook: Stable |
| |
| Other Factors affecting Rating |
| None |
| Key Financials - Standalone / Originator | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
** Total income equals to Net interest income plus other income |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable): |
| Not Applicable |
| Any other information |
| None |
| Applicable Criteria |
|
• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm • Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm • Non-Banking Financing Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-44.htm |
| Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available. |
| |
|
Contacts |
List of instruments and names of regulators of the instruments |
| © Acuité Ratings & Research Limited. All Rights Reserved. | www.acuite.in |
