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Concerned over defaults by big borrowers, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today said that the Government is monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in each PSU bank and asked the lenders to set up separate verticals to recover the money from written-off accounts.
Talking to reporters after meeting the heads of PSU banks, the Minister said he hoped that non-performing assets (NPAs) are a “function of economy” and would improve with the recovery in economic growth.
“We are monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in each bank, each zone. It is a matter of concern that it is the big borrowers (with loans of over Rs 1 crore) who are defaulting,” Chidambaram said.
The Minister said the situation was not as bad as it was in 2000, when gross NPAs touched a high of 14 per cent. NPAs, which plateaued over the years at about 2 per cent, have started creeping up with the deceleration in growth in the past few years.
As of June, the gross NPA of nationalised banks was 3.89 per cent and State Bank Group at 5.5 per cent.
Chidambaram said like State Bank of India, other PSU banks should set up separate verticals to recover as much as possible from the accounts that were written off.
Talking to reporters after meeting the heads of PSU banks, the Minister said he hoped that non-performing assets (NPAs) are a “function of economy” and would improve with the recovery in economic growth.
“We are monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in each bank, each zone. It is a matter of concern that it is the big borrowers (with loans of over Rs 1 crore) who are defaulting,” Chidambaram said.
The Minister said the situation was not as bad as it was in 2000, when gross NPAs touched a high of 14 per cent. NPAs, which plateaued over the years at about 2 per cent, have started creeping up with the deceleration in growth in the past few years.
As of June, the gross NPA of nationalised banks was 3.89 per cent and State Bank Group at 5.5 per cent.
Chidambaram said like State Bank of India, other PSU banks should set up separate verticals to recover as much as possible from the accounts that were written off.
Credit growth
The Minister, however, expressed satisfaction over credit growth by PSU banks in the first and second quarters of the current financial year and expressed hope that it will remain “satisfactory” in the remaining part of the fiscal.
Chidambaram said housing loans recorded a healthy growth in the first and second quarters and rose 42 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively.
Education loans also registered growth, he said, adding that banks have been asked to meet the lending target with regard to minorities.
The Minister said PSU banks will open 10,000 new branches and set up 34,668 onsite ATMs during the course of the current financial year.
Chidambaram said housing loans recorded a healthy growth in the first and second quarters and rose 42 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively.
Education loans also registered growth, he said, adding that banks have been asked to meet the lending target with regard to minorities.
The Minister said PSU banks will open 10,000 new branches and set up 34,668 onsite ATMs during the course of the current financial year.
Current account deficit
Referring to the current account deficit (CAD), Chidambaram said that the Government does not intend to lift the ban on gold coins and medallions.
The Government had imposed restrictions on import of gold with a view to contain CAD, which widened to an all-time high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. During the current fiscal, CAD is expected to narrow to below 3.7 per cent of GDP.
Source: thehindubusinessline
The Government had imposed restrictions on import of gold with a view to contain CAD, which widened to an all-time high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. During the current fiscal, CAD is expected to narrow to below 3.7 per cent of GDP.
Source: thehindubusinessline
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