Vocabulary For IBPS Clerk Mains Examination

As banks grapple(1) with bad loan problem, non-banking financial companies are witnessing rise in their market share, however, they will have to keep pace(2) with technologies to attract investment, says a study.

“With banks tightening their purse strings owing to increasing bad loans, Indian non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are growing their market share, however, they will have to keep pace with new technologies and changing customer aspirations to attract timely PE (private equity) investments,” said a joint study by industry body Assocham and advisory firm PwC.

The study suggests that NBFCs must challenge the status quo in their business and find funds to invest into operating models with the potential to disrupt(3) the industry.

With the digital advance of policy initiatives such as India Stack, Aadhaar Pay and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and exponential increase in smartphone/Internet access, NBFCs need to think hard about tweaking(4) their current business models to grow in a hybrid world –‘digital plus physical’.

“New tech-based business models have the potential to crunch(5) the learning period substantially and re-balance the strategic advantage of information access by inserting themselves into the value chain with technology,” said the study titled ‘Fuelling NBFCs through Private Capital’.

NBFCs will have to invest in new technologies to lower their cost of acquiring new segments, servicing existing customers and de-risking the portfolio(6) in order to ride the wave of increasing formal credit penetration in a growing economy, the study noted.

Besides, in order to fulfill demands of the new-age customer in terms of credit facilities, NBFCs will have to invest in analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities to be able to connect to the customer in a hyper-personalized manner.

As most of the public sector banks and some private banks are grappling with bad loans for last many years, it has generated a tremendous opportunity for NBFCs to ramp up(7) its scale.

In the last two years, NBFCs have doubled their market share in SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and wholesale loans and have made substantial inroads(8) in other consumer loan categories, the study said.

Coupled with lower cost, a focused approach on limited credit products and strong underlying risk management capabilities help NBFCs to not only underwrite credit to a targeted set of customers but also to control bad debts, making them one of the attractive sectors for PE funding, as per the study.

“Private equity firms can provide the necessary capital and financial muscle to undertake strategic decisions–right from expanding existing markets, building newer capabilities, improving efficiency or even to refinancing existing high-cost debt,” it said.

As per the study, PE firms look to invest in NBFCs, which can build scale that provides cost reduction opportunities, market access and operational efficiencies which then give PE firms higher returns when they monetize (9) their stakes.

Also, consolidation(10) of smaller NBFCs will, therefore, become an attractive target for PE firms in the future as they will have the opportunity to demonstrate a successful exit with substantial multiples.

1. Grapple [grap-uh l]

Verb: to hold or make fast to something, as with a grapple; to use a grapple; to seize another, or each other, in a firm grip, as in wrestling; clinch; to seize, hold, or fasten with or as with a grapple.

Noun: a hook or an iron instrument by which one thing, as a ship, fastens onto another; grapnel; a seizing or gripping.

Synonyms: confront, contend, cope, deal with, attack, battle, catch, clash, clasp, close, clutch, combat, encounter, engage, face, fasten, fight, grasp, grip, hold, hook, hug, nab, nail, scuffle, seize, snatch, struggle, tackle, take, tussle, do battle, take on.

Antonyms: agree, avoid, be immune, cancel.

2. Pace [peys]

Noun: a rate of movement, especially in stepping, walking, etc.; a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc.; tempo.

Synonyms: clip, measure, step, footstep, gait, lick, stride, tread, walk, getalong.

3. Disrupt [dis-ruhpt]

Verb: to cause disorder or turmoil in; to destroy, usually temporarily, the normal continuance or unity of; interrupt; to break apart.

Synonyms: disturb, rattle, agitate, bollix, confuse, disarray, discombobulate, discompose, disorder, muddle, rummage, shake, spoil, throw, unsettle, mess up, mix up, muck up.

Antonyms: appease, soothe, calm, clear up.

4. Tweak [tweek]

Verb: to pinch and pull with a jerk and twist; to pull or pinch the nose of, especially gently; to make a minor adjustment to.

Noun: an act or instance of tweaking; a sharp, twisting pull or jerk.

Synonyms: tease, twist, jerk, pinch, pluck, pull.

5. Crunch [kruhnch]

Verb: to crush with the teeth; chew with a crushing noise; to crush or grind noisily; to tighten or squeeze financially; order to combat inflation; to chew with a crushing sound; to produce, or proceed with, a crushing noise.

Noun: an act or sound of crunching; a shortage or reduction of something needed or wanted.

Synonyms: crisis, difficulty, trouble, crux, emergency, problem, test, critical point, hour of decision, moment of truth, trying time.

Antonyms: calm, contentment, peace, trivia.

6. Portfolio [pawrt-foh-lee-oh, pohrt-]

Noun: a flat, portable case for carrying loose papers, drawings, etc; such a case for carrying documents of a government department; the total holdings of the securities, commercial paper, etc., of a financial institution or private investor; the office or post of a minister of state or member of a cabinet.

Synonyms: bag, briefcase, case, container, envelope, folder, notebook, valise, attaché case, brief bag.

7. Ramp up: to increase.

8. Make inroads into something: to succeed in getting something done or at least , ted.

9. Monetize [mon-i-tahyz, muhn-]

Verb: to legalize as money; to coin into money; to give the character of money to; economics. To convert (a debt, especially the national debt) into currency, especially by issuing government securities or notes.

Synonyms: cast, construct, devise, fabricate, fashion, forge, invent, issue, make, mold, produce, provide, punch, stamp, strike, make up, think up.

Antonyms: break, demolish, destroy, dismantle.

10. Consolidation [kuh n-sol-i-dey-shuh n]

Noun: an act or instance of consolidating; the state of being consolidated; solidification; strengthening; something that is or has been consolidated; a consolidated whole.

Synonyms: merger, strengthening, unification, alliance, amalgamation, association, coalition, compression, concentration, condensation, federation, fusion, incorporation, merging, reinforcement, solidification, coadunation, melding, mergence.

Antonyms: division, separationant, agonism, disassociation.