Bajaj Finance Limited (BFL) is an Indian non-banking financial company headquartered in Pune.[6][7] It is one of the leading non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) of India with a customer base of 73 million and holds assets under management worth ₹270,050 crore (US$34 billion).[8] As per the 2023 list of NBFCs issued by the Reserve Bank of India, Bajaj Finance Limited holds the second position in the upper layer based on scale-based regulation guidelines.[9][10] History Originally incorporated as Bajaj Auto Finance Limited on March 25, 1987, as a non-banking financial company, primarily focused on providing two and three-wheeler finance.[11] After 11 years in the auto finance market, Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd launched its initial public issue of equity share and was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India.[12] At the turn of the 20th century, the company ventured into the consumer durables finance sector and started offering small-size loans at zero interest rates.[13][14] In the subsequent years, Bajaj Auto Finance diversified into business and property loans as well.[15][16] In the year 2006, the company's assets under management hit the ₹1,000 crore (US$130 million) crore mark and are currently at ₹52,332 crore (US$6.6 billion). 2010 saw the company's registered name change from Bajaj Auto Finance Limited to Bajaj Finance Limited.[citation needed] By 2015, BFL was known to be the first in the industry to set up a series of Disaster Recovery (DR) data centers that ensure business continuity for customer acquisition, loan processing, and servicing.[17] Additionally, by 2020, it started using data analytics and various big data tools to maintain its competitive position.[18] As of June 2022, Bajaj Finance has been working with RBL Bank and DBS Bank to issue co-branded credit cards. But, after the Reserve Bank of India opened the door for non-banking financial companies to enter the credit card industry, the company plans to introduce its credit card products by the beginning of the first quarter of 2023.[19] In January 2023, the company released its long-term strategy (LRS) to guide growth through different online and offline products. Under that strategy, Bajaj Finance launched its loan against property (LAP) business for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) customers, and has plans to launch new auto loans in the second quarter of 2024, microfinance in the fourth quarter of the same year, and tractor financing in the first quarter of 2025.[20][21] As of March 2023, the company deals in consumer lending, SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) lending, commercial lending, rural lending, deposits, and wealth management.[22] And, has 294 consumer branches and 497 rural locations with over 33,000+ distribution points and 1,50,000+ stores

In the year 2021, an analysis using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was conducted to examine the relationship between revenue factors and non-performing assets (NPA) parameters in Indian non-banking financial companies. Specifically, when studying Bajaj Finance, it was observed that there existed a statistically significant positive correlation between revenue and gross NPA (P<0.04), profit after tax (PAT) and gross NPA (P<0.04), as well as return on assets (ROA) and gross NPA (P<0.005), with a negative correlation found in the latter case.[24] Additionally, a similar study from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore noted the company's efforts in expanding its geographical reach, focus on product innovation, and emphasis on cross-selling as key contributors to its NPA performance.[25] In a study conducted in 2023, examining 30 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, which was subsequently published in the European Economic Letters journal, it was found that Bajaj Finance stock reached a maximum average return of 58.58%. This indicates a significant level of variability among the stocks over the past decade. The maximum average return surpasses the mean return of 13.70% by over four times, highlighting the substantial influence of Bajaj Finance's average return on the overall mean return.[26] For FY23, the company reported a 62% increase in profit after tax to ₹10,290 crore (US$1.3 billion), driven by a 30% increase in net interest income to ₹26,401 crore (US$3.3 billion).[27] Funding and investments The parent company, Bajaj Finserv Limited, holds 52.49% of the total shares and has a controlling stake in the subsidiary.[21] Other major investors include Maharashtra Scooters Limited, the Monetary Authority of Singapore-Government of Singapore, Nomura Securities, BNP Paribas, Smallcap World Fund INC, and AXIS Long Term Equity Fund.[28][29] According to an exchange filing in June 2023, the company's assets under management reached approximately ₹270,050 crore (US$34 billion),[30] reflecting a 32% increase from ₹204,018 crore (US$26 billion) recorded earlier on June 30, 2022[23]