Core Insights - The year 2025 has been marked by significant controversies in India's startup ecosystem, shifting from behind-the-scenes disputes to public meltdowns and regulatory confrontations [1][2][3] Controversies Overview - The controversies have led to serious consequences including arrests, asset freezes, market bans, and leadership exits, highlighting the ecosystem's vulnerabilities [1][3] Eggoz Controversy - A viral video claimed Eggoz's eggs contained cancer-linked chemicals, raising public health concerns [5] - Eggoz's founder denied the claims and stated that independent tests showed compliance with permissible limits [8] WinZO's RMG Reckoning - WinZO's founders were arrested for money laundering, with allegations of mishandling INR 43 Cr of gamers' funds after a ban on real-money gaming [11][12] - The Enforcement Directorate froze assets worth INR 505 Cr, escalating the legal crisis for the gaming platform [15][16] Dataisgood Founder’s Arrest - Dataisgood's founder was detained at the airport amid allegations of cheating and fund misuse, leading to a significant legal battle [17][18] - The Supreme Court ordered his surrender after multiple bail pleas were rejected [21] BluSmart's Financial Issues - BluSmart faced scrutiny after defaulting on non-convertible debentures, revealing deeper financial misconduct linked to its founders [23][29] - SEBI's investigation uncovered unaccounted funds exceeding INR 260 Cr, leading to a governance crisis [28][29] Medikabazaar's Governance Crisis - Medikabazaar's boardroom conflict escalated into a public battle over financial irregularities, resulting in the ousting of its CEO [30][34] - The board accused the CEO of inflated metrics and misreporting, leading to a significant indemnity claim from investors [36] DroneAcharya's Financial Irregularities - SEBI's investigation revealed that a third of DroneAcharya's reported revenue was fabricated, leading to penalties and a ban on its promoters [37][42] - The company misused IPO funds, diverting them from intended purposes [42] EaseMyTrip vs MakeMyTrip - EaseMyTrip's cofounder accused MakeMyTrip of having Chinese influence, raising national security concerns amid geopolitical tensions [45][46] - MakeMyTrip refuted the claims, emphasizing its compliance with Indian laws [52] CoinDCX Crypto Heist - CoinDCX reported a major security breach resulting in the loss of $44.2 million in crypto assets, prompting scrutiny over its operational security [54][58] - The company launched a recovery bounty to trace the stolen funds [59] Government Crackdown on OTT Platforms - The Indian government banned 25 OTT platforms for hosting obscene content, citing repeated violations of multiple laws [60][64] - Stricter warnings were issued to digital intermediaries regarding compliance [66] Urban Company's 'Insta Maids' Controversy - Urban Company's new service faced backlash for its name and pay structure, leading to a rebranding to 'Insta Help' [92][98] - The controversy highlighted broader issues in the gig economy regarding worker dignity and fair wages [99] Lenskart IPO Valuation Debate - Lenskart's IPO raised concerns over inflated valuations amid weak profitability in the consumer tech sector [100][104] - Critics drew parallels to past IPOs that underperformed post-listing, questioning investor decisions [104]

Investments & Partnerships - YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) invested in Temple Digital Group [1] - Temple Digital Group is the developer of the native trading platform on Canton Network [1] Product & Technology - Temple offers a privacy-focused trading stack [1] - Temple unifies tokenized assets, liquidity, and compliance on Canton's synchronized ledger [1]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a return on equity (ROE) of 20.7% for Q2 2025, reflecting strong operating performance and disciplined risk management [13][22] - Net interest income increased by 4.2%, supported by a contraction in interest expenses and a low-cost deposit structure [24][51] - The risk-adjusted net interest margin (NIM) reached a record 5.4%, aided by improved asset quality [14][52] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Universal banking and insurance and pensions posted very strong results, while microfinance continued to recover [13] - Fee income increased by 8.2%, driven by transactional activity at JAPI and BCP [25] - The innovation portfolio contributed 6.2% of risk-adjusted revenues, on track towards a 10% target for 2026 [13] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Peru's GDP is expected to grow by 3.2% in 2025, with domestic demand growing around 4.5% [7][27] - Inflation in Peru has remained below 2% for seven consecutive months, indicating a favorable economic environment [30] - The terms of trade have reached their highest level in 75 years, driven by elevated prices of gold, silver, and copper [27] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on building a more agile, balanced, and forward-looking platform, emphasizing digital infrastructure and client engagement [9][16] - The strategy includes advancing digital onboarding, behavioral scoring, and embedding AI across operations to enhance efficiency and decision-making [18][20] - The company aims to transform into a more diversified business model where fee generation and client engagement are as critical as lending [16] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in a favorable resolution regarding the tax case with Sunnab, despite the payment of approximately 1.6 billion soles [11][54] - The company anticipates loan growth to accelerate in the second half of the year, particularly in retail banking and microfinance [56][84] - The long-term sustainable ROE guidance has been revised upwards to around 19.5%, driven by stronger expectations of loan growth dynamics [60] Other Important Information - The company is preparing for its Investor Day on October 9, where it will outline its financial services model of the future [21] - The company reported a significant gain in BCP's investment portfolio, contributing positively to the ROE [22] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is driving the improvement in cost of risk? - Management explained that measures taken last year ensured portfolios are under risk appetite, leading to a low cost of risk. They anticipate higher yielding, higher risk portfolios in the second half of the year [63][66] Question: What is the long-term vision for the physical branch network? - The company has reduced its branch network significantly and plans to continue evolving branches into more educational and commercial hubs rather than transactional centers [70][72] Question: What are the expectations for loan growth this year? - The company expects loan growth to be around 6.5%, particularly driven by retail segments, including mortgages and consumer credit [84] Question: How much can Yape contribute in the future? - Yape is expected to become the second largest line of business for the company, primarily due to its lending business in retail and SME segments [91] Question: What is the expected cost of risk for the second half of the year? - The expectation for the whole year is a cost of risk in the range of 1.8% to 2.2%, with the second half likely closer to 2% [103]