Lenders agree to Religare Finvest's settlement plan

A one-time settlement (OTS) proposal put forward by Religare Finvest (RFL) management has received the go-ahead from more than half of the company's lenders. However, the deal hinges on a nod from the , the third-largest creditor to the company, which has still not signed off on the proposal as it awaits clearance from its external committee.

RFL owes more than a dozen lenders led by a total of ₹5,344 crore. It has offered to settle these claims with a payment of ₹2,320 crore - a 57% haircut for secured creditors. The amount includes cash reserves of ₹1,700 crore in RFL parked in the escrow account with banks and the rest will be infused by parent (REL), people familiar with the plan said.

"The deal envisages ₹2,150 crore to secured creditors, ₹80 crore to the provident fund trust of the employees and a 20% recovery for unsecured creditors. More than 51% of the secured creditors have already approved the plan and each day more are joining," said a person familiar with the deal.

It also includes a payment of at least ₹500 crore after six years from the possible settlement of RFL's dispute with the erstwhile Lakshmi , which had taken over deposits from the company to settle loans taken by the previous promoters.