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Alok Aggarwal takes up CEO role at Muthoot Homefin
Mumbai: Muthoot Homefin (India) Ltd. (MHIL), Muthoot Finance’s wholly owned housing finance subsidiary, announced that it aims to improve its leadership in order to become the most trusted institution that enriches the lives of lower middle-income (LMI) households by providing formal housing finance and achieving financial inclusion.
Alok Aggarwal joined MHIL as its new CEO after previously serving as the MD & CEO of National Trust Housing Finance Ltd. He will oversee MHIL’s future growth plan as its new CEO and address the enormous unmet demand for retail home loans. He will also be concentrating on growing the home financing industry, particularly in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Speaking on the appointment of Aggarwal, Muthoot Finance chairman George Jacob Muthoot said, “There exists a significant gap between the housing demand and availability of housing finance to the underbanked/marginalised section. Muthoot Homefin remains focused on bridging this divide and fulfilling the housing dreams of people at the bottom of the pyramid. The pandemic also further reinforced the need for housing, with real estate emerging as a resilient asset class. As a result, the demand for retail housing loans has continued to witness strong traction. With Aggarwal joining the leadership team, we aim to capitalise on his expertise to spearhead the growth in housing finance business and also contribute significantly towards the Government’s mission of ‘Housing for All’.”
With 20 years of expertise under his belt, Aggarwal has produced outstanding results and enhanced the performance of the businesses in a variety of markets, including mortgage, auto loans, personal loans, and retail investment products.
He is a veteran who has experience in establishing relationships with all stakeholders, including regulators, commercial banks, rating agencies, board members, peers in the sector, and employees. He is well-versed in the rules and policies under the NHB and RBI standards.
Aggarwal formerly held executive positions with companies like Equitas Bank, Fullerton India HFC, Magma Housing Finance, Lodha Group, and Tata Capital.
Aggarwal earned his MBA from the ICFAI Business School in Hyderabad as well as a bachelor’s degree in commerce with honours from the University of Delhi.
Commenting on the new role, Aggarwal said, “I am thankful and excited to become a part of the Muthoot Group and lead Muthoot Homefin. The Muthoot Group is trusted widely and being a part of the larger Muthoot group ecosystem, Muthoot Homefin can leverage on the strong brand presence of the parent, its reach to over four crore customer base and also access to lower cost of funds. While we are seeing increasing demand trends across many states, demand remains strong especially in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. The collection efficiency was largely stable during the pandemic, and hopefully with no fresh waves on the horizon, we expect healthy collection efficiency in the upcoming quarters. From an AUM of Rs 1,420 crore, we aim to grow our loan book at 10-15 per cent by the end of FY23. We further plan to improve our branch penetration across the remote locations in the country by opening 50 new branches in FY2023. Apart from a strong offline presence, we will also be actively tapping tech-savvy customers with our strong digital presence.”
“We remain committed towards growing and supporting the housing finance business of Muthoot Homefin. Although the demand for housing loans has been steady during the pandemic, we had adopted a cautious stance towards growing the housing finance business due to the challenges customers faced on the cash flow front. Now with the pandemic behind us, we are witnessing buoyancy in the affordable housing sector across all the key states that we are present in. Given the improvement in the overall operating environment, we aim to further tap the opportunity in the retail housing segment and grow the business. It is a great pleasure to onboard Aggarwal as the CEO and I am confident that his vast experience in leading the housing finance segment in previous organisations will help us in becoming a leading player in this space. I am happy that he joins our team at a really good time as we are focused on expanding our services to new geographies and customers,” said Muthoot Finance managing director George Alexander Muthoot.
MHIL’s loan portfolio stood at Rs 1,420 crore as of H1 FY23. Total revenue for Q2 FY23 stood at Rs 39 crore, and profit after tax was Rs 2 crore for the same period. MHIL’s credit rating has been upgraded to AA+/stable by Crisil Ltd., which will allow them to raise funds even more competitively and further pass on the benefits to their end customers to help them own their dream home.
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Microsoft faces worst quarter since 2008 financial crisis
Cloud giant battles soaring AI costs and fierce competition from nimble startups.
MUMBAI: When the tech titan starts looking a little wobbly, even the Magnificent Seven can feel the tremors because Microsoft is currently starring in its own sequel, “Clouds and Doubts.” Microsoft is on track for its worst quarterly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to Bloomberg, as investors grow increasingly uneasy about rising capital expenditure and intensifying competition from nimble AI firms. The company has been pouring money into AI infrastructure, yet markets are questioning when these hefty investments will finally deliver stronger revenue growth.
At the same time, investors are shifting away from traditional software stocks amid fears that AI startups such as Anthropic and OpenAI are developing autonomous agents capable of replacing established products, including those from Microsoft. Jonathan Cofsky, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, noted growing concern that customers may bypass Microsoft and deal directly with AI vendors, potentially disrupting its core business and putting pressure on pricing and margins.
Microsoft’s stock has tumbled 25 per cent in the first quarter, putting it on course for its largest drop since a 27 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of 2008. It has also emerged as the weakest performer among the so-called Magnificent Seven technology stocks, while a broader index tracking the group has fallen 14 per cent over the same period. The shares slipped a further 1.7 per cent after markets opened on Friday, marking a potential fourth consecutive session of declines.
Cofsky pointed out that Microsoft has become more capital intensive and that improved investor confidence will hinge on assurances that software growth will not slow materially. Despite the sell-off, the stock is now trading at less than 20 times projected earnings over the next 12 months, its lowest valuation level since June 2016. Its valuation remains slightly above that of the S&P 500 Index, although it has recently traded at a discount to the broader benchmark for the first time since 2015.
Bloomberg data shows Microsoft’s capital expenditure, including leases, is expected to surge to $146 billion in fiscal 2026, up around 66 per cent from $88 billion in fiscal 2025. Spending is projected to climb further to $170 billion in fiscal 2027 and $191 billion in fiscal 2028, based on average estimates. Investors are growing cautious about such levels of spending without clearer signs of stronger growth.
Microsoft’s Azure cloud division has reported a slight slowdown in growth compared with the previous quarter, while its Copilot AI product has seen limited user traction, prompting internal changes aimed at improving performance. Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Melius Research, warned in a March note that Microsoft’s upside in Azure could be constrained as the company works to address challenges related to its AI models and Copilot offering, adding that these issues are unlikely to be resolved in the short term.
Of the 67 analysts covering Microsoft, 63 maintain buy ratings, three hold ratings and one a sell rating. The average 12-month price target of $592 implies a potential upside of more than 64 per cent, the highest on record based on data going back to 2009. The stock is also trading below its 200-day moving average by the widest margin since 2009.
Reitzes suggested the dominance of buy ratings may indicate complacency among analysts, while highlighting risks in Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment as well as its More Personal Computing division. In contrast, Tal Liani of Bank of America reinstated coverage with a buy rating, citing durable multi-year growth prospects across cloud and AI. Jake Seltz, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, maintained that Microsoft retains strong long-term value and that its AI strategy is likely to be validated over time, viewing near-term concerns as a potential opportunity for longer-term investors.
The report highlights a growing divergence in market sentiment, with optimism around long-term AI potential weighed against immediate execution risks and investor uncertainty. In the world of big tech, even the mightiest clouds can have silver linings but right now, Microsoft’s investors are scanning the horizon for clearer skies.
