Why Zerodha CEO’s credit score isn’t ‘good enough’

MUMBAI: Nithin Kamath, the billionaire founder of India’s largest brokerage Zerodha, found himself on the wrong side of an algorithm. Despite a net worth of over Rs 40,000 crore, Kamath’s credit score of 747, falls short of the 750 required by lenders to provide their best home loan rates.Kamath shared his credit score on social media after making an enquiry through Zerodha Capital. Kamath’s score is emblematic of a deeper flaw in India’s credit assessment framework. Credit scores were designed to predict default risk, not measure wealth. High net-worth individuals like Kamath often eschew personal credit, reducing the data available for bureaus to assess. As a result, billionaires can look like risky borrowers on paper.