There is nothing new about the fact that Sachin Bansal had been in talks with RBI to understand the banking guidelines to reportedly open his own bank. Neither is his financial services agenda and NBFC investments and going bullish on fintech and agritech segment with BAC Acquisitions a breaking news.
However, in the latest documents filed by the company with Registrar of Companies at Ministry of Corporate Affairs, certain changes were made to the Memorandum of Associations – a fundamental document on the basis of which a company has to operate.
To elucidate, MoA defines the main objectives for which the company is set up. These objectives define all the core and the side businesses of the company or the functions it plans on carrying out.
BACQ has added one main and one sub-clause to these objectives of running the business. The main clause says that the company from now onwards also pans to assist and advice companies vis-a-vis all their financial, fiscal, and revenue matters. This also includes aspects like budgeting, planning, procurement of debts and equity/venture capital, corporate restructuring, M&A deals, fraud prevention, and formulation and control of long term financial policies.
All these functions while also are related to consultancy or incubation, here they also could simply be what the company plans on doing for its acquired portfolio.
One thing that is an important development is the adding of a sub clause whereby BACQ is capable of using its idle money for provision of inter-corporate and individual loans or debt instruments with or without security to any customer or company that makes a reasonable case. All this, however, has to be without acting as a bank, an institution as defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Seems like the Bank opening dream of Sachin Bansal is yet to actualise.
Nonetheless, MCA filings and languages are known for their ambiguity via scope for multiple interpretations. Keeping the lending function in the auxiliary objectives does imply that instead of being the core business the lending function is just a part of the larger task of acquisitions (or incubation and consultancy if at all).
This means that BACQ will invest in, acquire, or assist particular clients or companies and also facilitate them loans and debt financing.
