Consumers probably will continue to buy: V Vaidyanathan, Future Capital Holdings

We are approaching the festive season. Do you believe that high interest rates are going to deter borrowers who come forward looking to take out personal loans from firm such as yours?

V Vaidyanathan: As far as consumer behaviour is concerned, it is as much the issue of interest rates as much as the expectations are and so far the tone is still hawkish, if what we could hear on the show. And therefore there will be concern among borrowers at large to say that how much more interest rates might hike. Therefore people will be on a housing loan for example people will probably factor in that much more hike before they purchase a home now. We must also in the same breadth point out that fundamentally the Indian corporates continue to hire right at the end of the day 8% growth. Till the corporate sector is hiring, they have to consume more and the overall story so far is still going good, despite these hikes. Therefore, consumers probably will continue to buy, they will definitely be cautious about what further hikes might happen. Therefore consumer durables, freezers, televisions, I do not see that much of an impact at all. If you talk about cars, people will be impacted doubly not only from the interest rates but also from the hike of fuel prices and therefore the two will probably impact the demand for cars, for example. Homes will probably be a bit subdued. We should factor for that in the way we do business.