Debt securities...SEBI clarifies asset cover norms

Regulated finance companies no longer need to show 100% asset cover while selling unsecured debt instruments to raise capital, the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said on Thursday. The capital market regulator had said in November that issuers of listed debt securities should maintain 100% asset cover sufficient to discharge the principal amount at all times. This was to discourage issuers who were classifying instruments with very little asset cover as secured debt. The SEBI note clarifies the earlier rule that no asset cover is required for debt classified as unsecured.