Review of Literature and Research Methodology:

In the normal course, NBFCs are exposed to credit and market risks
in view of the asset-liability transformation. With liberalisation in
Indian financial markets over the last few years and growing
integration of domestic markets with external markets and entry of
MNCs for meeting the credit needs of not only the corporates but
also the retail segments, the risks associated with NBFCs' operations
have become complex and large, requiring strategic management.
NBFCs are now operating in a fairly deregulated environment and
are required to determine on their own, interest rates on deposits,
subject to the ceiling of maximum rate of interest on deposits they
can offer on deposits prescribed by the Bank; and advances on a
dynamic basis. The interest rates on investments of NBFCs in
government and other securities are also now market related.
Intense competition for business involving both the assets and
liabilities has brought pressure on the management of NBFCs to
maintain a good balance among spreads, profitability and long-term
viability. Imprudent liquidity management can put NBFCs' earnings
and reputation at great risk. These pressures call for structured and
comprehensive measures and not just ad hoc action. The
managements of NBFCs have to base their business decisions on a
dynamic and integrated risk management system and process,
driven by corporate strategy. NBFCs are exposed to several major
risks in the course of their business - credit risk, interest rate risk, ,
equity / commodity price risk , liquidity risk and operational risk. It
is, therefore, important that NBFCs introduce effective risk
management systems that address the issues relating to interest
rate and liquidity risks.
NBFCS need to address these risks in a structured manner by upgrading their risk
management and adopting more comprehensive Asset-Liability Management (ALM)
practices than has been done hitherto. ALM, among other functions, is also
concerned with risk management and provides a comprehensive and dynamic
framework for measuring, monitoring and managing liquidity and interest rate equity
and commodity price risks of major operators in the financial system that needs to be
closely integrated with the NBFCs' business strategy. It involves assessment of
various types of risks and altering the asset-liability portfolio in a dynamic way in
order to manage risks.

Many studies have been concluded in India and abroad to

investigate the major structural changes in the field of banking
and the relevance of ALM for NBFC in marinating their interest
spreads and profitability. In this context the present chapter is

an attempt to review the studies already done and draw some

important conclusions that can serve as a guide mark for the
study.

2.1 Review of Literature

Kumar, Ravi T. (2000) in the study, Asset Liability
Management, has discussed the ALM in different models.
According to him, ALM is basically a hedging response to the
risk in financial intermediation with ALM in place, managers
can evaluate the impact of alternative decisions on the future
risk profiles. Managing the spread income and controlling the
risk associated with generating the spread are the crucial part
of the ALM process for any Bank. He concluded that intense
competition for business on the Asset and Liability side
coupled with increasing volatility in both domestic interest
rates and foreign exchange rates is putting pressure on the
management of banks to maintain spreads, profitability and
long term viability. He further concluded that to remain
competitive Indian financial institutions can not afford to
remain aloof and they should evolve necessary system for the
adoption of ALM.
Rajwade, A. V. (2002) in the study, Issues in Asset Liability
Management III: More on Regulatory Framework,
emphasized on different issues involved in ALM by NBFC and
focused mainly on points arising from the regulatory
framework. The study showed that deregulation of interest
rates, itself was a recent idea and that RBI had an inflation as
well as exchange rate target or objective. Again RBIs
mechanism
for implementing
monitoring policy was
undergoing changes and refinement. The study found that of
the reserved money, around 72% came from holding of foreign
currency reserves and around 28% from RBI holdings of
government securities. The study concluded that fro predicting
changes in interest rates, one will have to take a view of the

exchange market demand supply in future and this was a very

difficult exercise as it depended on many factors such as
sentiment, other political or economic scenario, which are
beyond anybodys control.
Sehgal, M. and Kher, R. (2002) in the study, Asset Liability
Management in NBFC, stressed on the objective and aspects
of ALM in NBFC, and to some extent, on the broader aspects of
risk management. They viewed that a sound ALM system for
the bank should encompass review of interest rate outlook,
fixation of interest, product pricing of both assets and
liabilities, review of credit portfolio and credit risk management
of foreign exchange operations and management of liquidity
risks. In the present context, ALM exercised should comprise of
prudential management of funds with respect to size and
duration minimizing undesirable maturity mismatch to avoid
liquidity problem and reducing the gap between risks sensitive
assets and rate sensitive liabilities with the given risk taken
capacity.
Gurumoorthy, T. R. (2004) in the study, Analysis of Income
and Expenditure in NBFC, attempted to analyze the income,
expenditure and operating profit of NBFC. The new private
sector NBFC have been in the stage of branch expansion .
Thus, the percentage rise in expenditure of the new private
sector NBFC has been greater than that of the other NBFC. As
far as operating profits are concerned the new private sector
NBFC stand first, followed by old public sector NBFC and
private sector NBFC. In this competitive environment the
efficient asset liability management, project appraisal and
recovery mechanism will help to earn the interest income
substantially.
Thimmaiah, G. (2004) in the study, Asset Liability
Management in NBFC, focused on Asset Liability Management
in the NBFC and to some extent on broader aspects of risk
management. The objective of the study was to review the
interest rate, credit portfolio, investment portfolio, credit risk
management, risk management and management of liquidity
risk. In the study four principal approaches were used to
quantify the risk i.e. Gap Method, Duration Method, Simulation

Method and Value at Risk Method. The study concluded that

there was a need of ALM in India because to maximize income
with acceptable risk there was need to emphasize on interest
margin/spread, liquidity and capital which were having desired
maneurability.
Raghavan, R. S. (2005) in the study, Risk Management An
Overview, discussed the implication of Basel-II Accord on the
capital structure of NBFC. The purpose of Basel-II is to
introduce a more risk sensitive capital framework with
incentives for good risk management practices. Under Basel-II
approach, capital requirements will increase for those NBFC
that hold high risk assets/ low quality assets and those with
low risk assets (high quality assets), a balanced portfolio as
well as effective risk management control systems may need
less capital requirements. He concluded that the financial
system has to cope constantly with changes in the broader
environment in which it operates and face new challenges that
those developments impose on it.
Bhasin, A. (2007) in the study, Understanding Risks in NBFC: A
Note, endeavored to discuss the important concepts in tasks
management as applicable to NBFC against the backdrop of
Basel-II. The article aims to develop a basic understanding on
major risks surrounding a NBFC institution as also the more
popular means of managing them. She concluded that risk
management calls for consolidating on the techniques and
structures already built rather than going haphazardly for new
techniques as effort have been made already to create an
environment for all market participants in terms of regulation,
infrastructure and instruments.