Former Eskom contractor arrested in UK, released on hefty bail with strict conditions Independent Directorate said arrest paves the way to extradite Michael Lomas 23 April 2021 - 10:34 Former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas has been arrested in the UK in connection with a R745m corruption and fraud investigation into the construction of the mega coal-fired Kusile power station in Mpumalanga. File photo. Image: Waldo Swiegers/Sunday Times
Former Eskom contractor Michael Harry Lomas has been arrested in the UK, where he is a citizen.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate (ID), Sindisiwe Seboka, said Lomas was arrested in London on April 15 and appeared before the Westminster magistrate’s court on Thursday.
MUMBAI: Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and rating agencies have warned of delinquencies in the small and medium enterprises segment if the lockdown continues. Lenders said, unlike last year when they got additional credit lines and relief in the form of a moratorium, small businesses do not have enough cash to see them through a prolonged shutdown.
“While it is too early to comment on the extent of the impact on the asset quality of retail loans due to the rising Covid cases, there is reason to be cautious. After the nationwide lockdown last year, we had witnessed a severe drop in collections for most asset classes though the availability of a moratorium provided a breather from an NPA-recognition perspective,” said Abhishek Dafria, VP and head (structured finance) at Icra.
Synopsis
Since default by small businesses could result in credit freeze to this segment, the RBI might be forced to look at a moratorium if the lockdown restrictions get extended geographically and extend for a longer period.
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According to bankers, the combination of moratorium and emergency credit line guarantee scheme in the previous year helped to protect banks, NBFCs and small businesses.
(This story originally appeared in on Apr 23, 2021)MUMBAI: Non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and rating agencies have warned of delinquencies in the small and medium enterprises segment if the lockdown continues. Lenders said, unlike last year when they got additional credit lines and relief in the form of a moratorium, small businesses do not have enough cash to see them through a prolonged shutdown.
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As far as NBFCs are considered, we believe livelihood lending will not get impacted but lifestyle lending may feel the effect of the second Covid wave, says
Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Group Chairman,
Inditrade Capital.
Why do you think the markets succumbed to the selling pressure on Tuesday despite the news that all people above 18 are to be vaccinated?
That is good news for the markets as well as the economy. But the unfortunate reality is that the vaccines are not readily available. Vaccine companies and multiple pharma companies have been talking about the status of their preparedness and I think the earliest batch of vaccines which will come to the market would be from Sputnik which will be in June and not before that and that is also imported.