Adani Crisis May Not Have important Finance Spillover Risks: S&P

By Consultants Review Team Wednesday, 15 February 2023

S&PS&P Global Reviews said that there will not be any important direct cash spillover risks because of the crisis of been experienced by the Adani group, although there may be some secondary impact such as banks undertaking extra due diligence while giving loans to corporates.

S&P Senior Director (Infrastructure & Utilities Ratings), Abhishek Dangra said as per external estimates, the exposure of the banking sector to Adani group companies is less than 1% and also the credit ratings of the firms are not at a 'distress level'.

However, he said that the risk premium for some Indian businesses and those under the Adani umbrella would increase, and if banks have worries about governance, they might conduct additional due diligence, which might cause a delay in credit approval.

"Therefore, there are no significant direct financial spillover risks. However, there can be some ancillary factors. More so, given that the domestic banking system is where many businesses have started looking for funding and that the dollar bond market is not always open due to high dollar rates, some banks may undertake additional due diligence there, which could have an impact on the cost or timelines "During a webinar, Dangra said.

He was responding to a query about whether S&P believes the Adani group turmoil poses any dangers to financial stability.

According to a January 24 analysis by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, the Adani group used offshore tax havens and stock manipulation to pull off "the greatest fraud in corporate history."

The group has consistently refuted the charges, which have caused shares of its listed firms to tumble, resulting in a combined market value loss of more than USD 120 billion in just three weeks.

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