The FM just held a meeting that should worry every lender in India
Welcome to the 201st edition of The Pattern, a weekly newsletter on the latest in finance, technology, and
Mayank Jain
Four years later, an industry reshaped
Five themes ran through nearly every edition we published over these four years. We're naming them plainly -- and saying what each one actually meant.
Two MPCs, same number, different story
A pause from constraint, not comfort
Is India growing, or borrowing its way there?
The stock market tracks the giants, but these pings track desperation.
The great repricing of everything
For nearly a decade, we've operated in a minimal friction, growth-first economy. This week, the costs have become impossible to ignore.
When the war reaches your kitchen
It's an interesting reminder of how global events move through an economy.
The invisible signs before a banking crisis
Every time a financial scandal breaks, the instinct is to treat it as an isolated failure
All that glitters is not low-risk
Higher prices mean borrowers can raise more against the same jewelry.
The sovereign flywheel: AI brains, lending muscle
Forget payments infrastructure. India built credit infrastructure at population scale.
When collateral stops being the main character
For many small business owners, even with steady cash flow, every loan discussion comes down to one question: what collateral can you pledge?
An MPC meeting that chose restraint
The RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% and retained its neutral stance, exactly in line with expectations.
Credit access has expanded. What next?
Building a financial system is a lot like building a product. Early on, the focus is on shipping features and onboarding users. Does it work? Can people sign up?