Dewan Housing Finance Corporation

Background and DHFL period (1984–2018)

The company was incorporated in 1984 as Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL). It expanded through several acquisitions, including the 2010 purchase of Deutsche Postbank's Indian home finance unit for ₹1,079 crore and the acquisition of a majority stake in DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance in 2013.

Governance failure and insolvency (2019–2021)

Between 2019 and 2021, the company underwent a restructuring following allegations of financial impropriety and regulatory intervention. In January 2019, investigative reports alleged the siphoning of approximately ₹31,000 crore through shell companies, a claim denied by the company's management. Despite initial credit rating stability, DHFL defaulted on debt repayments in June 2019, leading to a loss in market valuation. Consequently, on 20 November 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) superseded the company's board, citing governance failures and payment defaults. This marked the first instance where the RBI invoked the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against a financial services provider.

Acquisition by Piramal and reorganization (2021–present)

The restructuring concluded in September 2021 when the Piramal Group acquired DHFL for a total consideration of ₹34,250 crore through the Committee of Creditors process. As part of the resolution plan, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited (PCHFL) was merged into DHFL via a reverse merger structure, with the merged entity continuing operations under the PCHFL name to leverage the existing branch network and customer base.

In April 2025, the RBI approved the company's transition from a Housing Finance Company (HFC) to a Non-Banking Financial Company – Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC). The company subsequently surrendered its HFC license and was renamed Piramal Finance Limited to align with its strategic focus on retail and MSME lending. In May 2025, Piramal Enterprises Limited announced a proposed merger of Piramal Finance into the parent entity to improve capital efficiency. The reverse merger with Piramal Enterprises was completed in September 2025, resulting in a unified, publicly listed financial services entity.

Operations

As of December 2025, Piramal Finance's total assets under management (AUM) reached ₹96,690 crore following its regulatory reclassification from a Housing Finance Company (HFC) to an Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC).

The retail division comprises approximately 82% of the total credit portfolio. This segment primarily consists of mortgage-backed loans, including residential housing finance and loans against property, with an average mortgage ticket size of ₹15 lakh focused on Tier II and Tier III cities. The retail division also includes micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) credit facilities, along with smaller portfolios in unsecured personal loans and used-vehicle financing.

The wholesale division is managed under two distinct categories. The Wholesale 2.0 framework accounts for roughly 13% of the AUM. Established under a 2021 risk-management protocol to limit single-entity exposure, this framework provides construction finance to residential developers and term loans to mid-market corporate entities across smaller-scale projects. The remaining 5% of the AUM constitutes the legacy wholesale book. This portfolio consists of large-ticket real estate developer loans and stressed assets inherited from the 2021 acquisition of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), which are managed through a dedicated recovery and divestment process.

The company operates a distribution network consisting of 518 branches located across 26 states and 429 cities.

Legal matters and controversies

SEBI insider-trading investigation

In 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India concluded a settlement with the former managing director of Piramal Capital & Housing Finance and associated parties in relation to an investigation into alleged insider trading in shares of Piramal Enterprises. The settlement involved the payment of approximately ₹43.5 crore without admission or denial of wrongdoing under SEBI's settlement mechanism.

Financial irregularities and probes against DHFL

In 2019, DHFL stopped payment of bonds and defaulted on its loan obligations. This caused its stock to fall over 97% and a government intervention in the company.

In August 2019, as efforts to draft a resolution plan by restructuring DHFL debt into equity, a few of the DHFL bond holders moved to the debt recovery tribunal, which could impact the resolution process. The company meanwhile offered to repay all investors in full with due process of inter-creditor-agreement.

In October 2019, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at several places of DHFL offices and promoter residences and found links of money laundering activity in loans given to firms closely linked to the promoters of the company. Additionally the trail of the loan given by DHFL to Sunblink real estate in 2010 lead to gangster Iqbal Mirchi, an accomplice of the organized crime mastermind Dawood Ibrahim.

On 20 November 2019, under Section 45-IE (I) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Indian central bank removed the board of directors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). The reasons cited by the banking regulator for the dismissal of the DHFL board of directors were: inadequate governance and the various defaults on its payment obligations.

On 27 January 2020, the promoter of DHFL, Kapil Wadhawan was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrest was connected to his firm's alleged involvement in providing loans to the organized criminal enterprise of Dawood Ibrahim. On 22 February 2020, the PMLA court granted bail to Kapil Wadhwan. The Bombay high court upheld the bail decision by PMLA court, rejecting Indian Enforcement Directorate requests to stay the bail application.