JM Financial Ltd. (JMFL) is an Indian financial services group headquartered in Mumbai and has branches across India.[3] It also has overseas branches in Ebene, Singapore, New Jersey and Dubai although almost all the group's business are domestic operations in India.[1][3]
JM Financial was founded in 1973 by Mahendra Kampani and Nimesh Kampani as a spin-off from Jamnadas Morarjee Securities' investment banking arm[4] and was originally set up as a consultancy practice.[2][5]
In 1991, it listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange becoming a publicly listed company group[7] and in 2006 it held a secondary listing on the National Stock Exchange of India.[8] The group expanded into different businesses outside Stock-broking which include Asset management in 1994,[9] Private equity in 2006,[10] Real estate investment in 2007,[11] Distressed Credit in 2008[12] and Mortgage lending in 2017.[13]
In 1999, JM Financial and Morgan Stanley set up a Joint venture in India named JM Morgan Stanley.[14] In February 2007, Morgan Stanley announced the end of JM Morgan Stanley Joint Venture agreement.[14] It acquired JM Financial's 49% stake in the institutional brokerage business, and sold its 49% stake in the Investment banking business to JM Financial.[14]
JM Financial has four main business segments: 1. Investment banking, Wealth management and Securities Business (IWS); 2. Mortgage lending; 3. Distressed Credit and 4. Asset Management.[1] The IWS and Mortgage lending segments make up the majority of the group's revenue.[1] Almost all of the group's revenue is from only India.[1]
Although JM Financial is a publicly listed company, Kampani and his family still exhibit significance influence over it. According to shareholding disclosures, Kampani and his family hold over 15% of the group's shares.[15] This doesn't include indirect ownership via private entities etc.[15]
According to Mergermarket League tables, JM Financial is usually ranked in the top 10 firms for India deals by value with its 2021 rank being No. 4.[16]
In 2009, JM Financial Founder, chairman and managing director, Nimesh Kampani was under police investigation for alleged involvement of defrauding depositors by Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Finance Ltd.[17][18] Kampani was reported hiding in Dubai temporarily to avoid arrest.[19] In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India granted a stay on the arrest for Kampani.[18] After two years, Kampani returned to India but stepped back from daily operations.[19] In 2016, he formally resigned from his position as managing director and handed over control of JM Financial to his son, Vishal Kampani.[18][19]
In 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined JM Financial and three other Indian securities firms, US$1.8 million for violating registration rules.[20] The firms solicited and provided brokerage services to U.S. investors without being registered with the SEC as required under the federal securities laws.[20]
In 2020, Atul Saraogi, a vice president at JM Financial settled an alleged insider trading case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by paying ₹1.5 million.[21] From 2013 to 2014, Saraogi engaged in off-market transactions of JM financial shares without obtaining approval from his employer.[21]
In June 2024, SEBI banned JM Financial from acting as a lead manager for public issues of debt securities until March 31, 2025, in a case of alleged irregularities in a public issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).[22]
