Rating Rationale
June 11, 2018 | Mumbai
Rating on HDFC Income Fund and HDFC Dynamic Debt Fund Placed on 'Notice of Withdrawal'
 
Rating Action
HDFC Income Fund CRISIL AAAmfs (Placed on 'Notice of Withdrawal')
HDFC Dynamic Debt Fund (Erstwhile HDFC High Interest Fund - Dynamic Plan) CRISIL AAAmfs (Placed on 'Notice of Withdrawal')
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has placed the above mentioned schemes of HDFC mutual fund on 'Notice of Withdrawal' for 30 days, while reaffirming the rating at 'CRISIL AAAmfs'.
 
The rating has been placed under notice of withdrawal on the request of HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd (HDFCAMCL).In accordance with the abovementioned policy, the rating will be withdrawn on completion of the notice period. The rating remains under surveillance during this period.
 
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), vide circulars dated October 6, 2017, and December 4, 2017, had issued guidelines on categorisation and rationalisation of mutual fund schemes. The guidelines are aimed at making mutual fund schemes clearly distinct in terms of asset allocation and investment strategy, and to bring in uniformity in the characteristics of similar type of schemes launched by different mutual funds. The objective here is to standardize the mutual fund scheme categories and characteristics of each category.
 
In order to comply with the said guidelines, HDFC Asset Management Company Limited (HDFCAMCL), the Asset Management Company, has renamed their HDFC High Interest Fund - Dynamic Plan as HDFC Dynamic Debt Fund. HDFC Dynamic Debt Fund will now invest in debt instruments and money market instruments upto 100% of the total assets wherein units issued by REITs and InvITs will range between 0-10%. Earlier the scheme used to invest in debt instruments and money market instruments upto 100% of the total assets. There was no provision for investments in REITS and InvITs. HDFC Income Fund will now invest in debt instruments and money market instruments upto 100% of the total assets wherein units issued by REITs and InvITs will range between 0-10%.Earlier the scheme used to invest in Debt instruments (80-100%) and money market instruments (0-20%).

The scheme has been reconstituted after taking due approvals from SEBI and investors. CRISIL has assessed the schemes post-reconstitution and has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL AAAmfs' rating.
 
The rating indicates CRISIL's opinion on the credit quality of the debt securities that the fund holds. The rating does not indicate the AMC's willingness or ability to make timely payments to the fund's investors. The rating is also not an opinion on the fund's net asset value (NAV). The NAV may vary with developments in the market.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
'CRISIL AAAmfs' indicates CRISIL's opinion on the credit quality of the portfolio of debt securities that the Fund holds; the rating does not indicate the willingness or ability of the AMC to make timely payments to the funds' investors. Schemes with this rating are considered to have the highest degree of safety regarding timely receipt of payments from the investments that they have made.
 
CRISIL's assessment of a rated fund's credit quality is based on the creditworthiness of the fund's portfolio. CRISIL has developed a credit quality matrix to assess the aggregate credit quality of a fund's underlying portfolio. The matrix is a set of credit factors and credit scores derived scientifically from the default and transition rates of CRISIL's long-term ratings. The credit factors reflect the expected default behaviour of the respective securities in the portfolio, and the expected deterioration in their credit quality. The lower the credit factor for each security, the higher would be its inherent credit quality. The credit factors are applied to the proportion of securities held in each rating category to arrive at the credit score for the portfolio. The rating on the fund is assigned on the basis of the fund's total credit score. A rated fund needs to maintain, at all times, a credit score consistent with its assigned rating.

About the AMC 
HDFCAMCL manages HDFCMF's funds in accordance with the provisions of the investment management agreement, trust deed, regulations, and objectives of each fund. HDFCAMCL had average assets under management of Rs 300548.75 crore during the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Any other information
A Bond Fund Credit Quality Rating indicates CRISIL's opinion on the credit quality of the portfolio of debt securities that the fund holds; the rating does not indicate the willingness or ability of the AMC to make timely payments to the funds' investors. The rating is also not an opinion on the fund's net asset values (NAVs); the NAVs can vary with developments in the market.

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments. The CRISIL complexity levels are available on www.crisil.com/complexity-levels. Users are advised to refer to the CRISIL complexity levels for instruments that they consider for investment. Users may also call the Customer Service Helpdesk with queries on specific instruments.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of instrument Date of allotment Coupon rate (%) Maturity date Issue size
(Rs. Crore)
Rating assigned with outlook
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2018 (History) 2017 2016 2015 Start of 2015
Instrument Type Quantum Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
HDFC Income Fund  -- -- CRISIL AAAmfs   -- 30-05-17 CRISIL AAAmfs 26-05-16 CRISIL AAAmfs   -- CRISIL AAAmfs
HDFC Dynamic Debt Fund -- -- CRISIL AAAmfs   -- 30-05-17 CRISIL AAAmfs 26-05-16 CRISIL AAAmfs   -- CRISIL AAAmfs
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Links to related criteria
Rating Methodology for Credit Quality Ratings of Bond Funds

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