Indian asset backed securities stabilised in 2015: Fitch

Mumbai, Jan 26: Indian asset backed securities (ABS) performed better in 2015 than the previous year, which is representative of the economy's resilience, ratings agency Fitch said.

"The build-up in delinquencies for Indian ABS transactions that closed in 2015 was slower than that in 2014, a sign that overall delinquencies have stabilised," it said in a note.

They fell mainly due to a "resilient economy that rebounded from rather slow growth in 2014", it added.

Even though slower than expectations, the growth rate has picked up over the previous year and the country's GDP is expected to clock a growth of over 7 per cent in 2015-16.

Fitch said the interest in ABS will continue to be high given the mandatory priority sector lending (PSL) requirements and foreign banks' inability to meet the targets.

"ABS investment is one of the main channels by which foreign banks can satisfy PSL requirements, unlike local banks, which lend directly to PSL borrowers," it said.

It added that there has been growth in the share of tractor loans in the securitised pools it rates, saying it accounted for 15 per cent in the first half of 2015 as against 10 per cent before that.

The tractor loans will continue to form a large part of ABS transactions due to greater demand from institutional investors for exposure to the agricultural priority sector, it added.

PTI