In an exclusive interview with Forbes India, Edelweiss Chairman Rashesh Shah talks about the ill-fated bet with real estate loans, the NBFC pivot, his plans to reduce debt and the turnaround of the group that remains a work in progress
Five years ago, Rashesh Shah was fighting for survival. A large bet that Edelweiss, the financial services conglomerate he founded, had taken on real estate loans turned sour. Out of a total 100 developer loans, as many as 40 were not paying on time. When interest payments are not made, loans have to be marked as non-performing. On its part, Edelweiss had to continue to meet its obligations to debtors. It was a classic asset-liability mismatch and it almost sunk the group.