1. Investment & Credit Company (NBFC - ICC): (New Category)

In order to provide operational flexibility per the principle of activity-based classification, the RBI has, in a recent update, consolidated or harmonized 3 categories of NBFC’s Namely Loan Companies (LC), Asset Finance Companies (AFC) and Investment Companies, into a single Category named Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC).

➲. Loan Company (LC)

Loan Company means a financial institution that is carrying out Loan disbursal to earn Interest income as its principal business, but it does not include an Asset Finance Company, an equipment leasing company, or a hire-purchase Company. A loan company can undertake the activities performed by a hire-purchase or leasing company. The nature of the business of a loan company, a hire-purchase company, a leasing company is similar, but the funding requirements for these companies are pretty different from each other.

➲. Investment Company (IC)

Investment Companies are those which carry out trading of securities on listed exchanges as a primary business and are also involved in NBFC operations.

➲. Asset Finance Company (AFC)

An Asset Finance Company (AFC) is a non-deposit taking NBFC which is involved in the primary business of financing of physical assets supporting productive/economic, like automobiles, tractors, lathe machines, cranes, generator sets, earthmoving and material handling equipment, moving on own power and general-purpose industrial machines as its principal business. The principal business is defined as aggregate of financing real/physical assets supporting economic activity and income arising from there is more or equal than 60% of its total assets and total income respectively.

2. Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC)

Infrastructure finance companies carry out financing of a minimum of three-fourths of their total assets in infrastructure loans. The Net Owned Funds (NOF) are more than 3 billion and a minimum crediting rating of 'A' with Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio is 15%.

3. Infrastructure Debt Fund: Non- Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC)

IDF-NBFC are companies registered as NBFC to facilitate the flow of long-term debt into infrastructure projects. IDF-NBFC raises resources through Multiple-Currency bonds of minimum 5-year maturity. Only Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFC) can sponsor IDF-NBFCs.

4. NBFC-Factors

NBFC Factors has the principal business of factoring. Factoring is a financial transaction and a type of debtor finance to provide the financial assistance now to cover the invoice amount to be collected at a later date.

5. Gold Loan NBFCs in India

Gold Loan NBFC carry out financing by keeping Gold as security from the customers. In recent years, gold loan NBFCs witnessed an upsurge in the Indian financial market, owing mainly to the appreciation in the gold price and consequent increase in the demand for the gold loan by all sections of society, especially the poor and middle-class society. Growth of gold loan NBFCs is seen both in terms of the size of their balance sheet and their physical presence which in turn compelled to increase their dependence on public funds including bank finance and non-convertible debentures. Aggressive structuring of gold loans resulting from the uncomplicated, undemanding, and fast process of documentation along with the higher Loan to Value (LTV) ratio includes some of the major factors that caused the growth of Gold loan NBFCs.