Over the past few weeks, multiple NBFCs have hit pause on public listings. SK Finance (TPG), Belstar Microfinance, Veritas Finance (Norwest), Aye Finance (BII), Avanse (Warburg Pincus), and Credila all delayed or shelved their IPOs. These were not small deals - together, they were targeting ~$2.2B in primary capital.

So, what’s happening?

At a macro level:

👉 Credit stress is building, especially in unsecured MSME lending.

👉 Underwriting has been shaky across the board.

👉 Overexposure to vulnerable sectors (like textiles, jewelry) is biting hard after recent US tariffs.

This isn’t new. The IL&FS crisis in 2018 exposed structural issues in how NBFCs manage liquidity and risk. What’s new is the scale. Even high-profile IPOs are being revalued downward or pulled completely.

A few signals to track:

👉 RBI’s tone is increasingly hawkish on NBFC asset quality.

👉 Retail + SME credit demand remains soft, especially outside Tier 1.

👉 Public market investors are pricing in real risk — see HDB Financial’s IPO (40% discount vs. unlisted market).

Despite $10B already raised via IPOs in 2025 (and $18B more forecast in H2), NBFCs may stay on the sidelines until fundamentals improve.