Paytm tumbles on plan to curtail low-value personal loans

Bengaluru: Paytm plunged as much as 20 percent on Thursday, its steepest decline since listing two years ago, as the digital payments firm will give out fewer low-value personal loans after the central bank tightened rules on consumer lending.

The non-bank lender said on Wednesday it will go slow on sub-50,000-rupee (about $600) loans but expand its portfolio of high-ticket personal and commercial loans.

The Reserve Bank of India tightened consumer lending rules in October, after a surge in small-ticket loans, particularly of those less than 50,000 rupees, and an increase in delinquencies.