Set up cells for bad loans in banks, House panel tells RBI

BL :NEW DELHI, APRIL 23:2013

  

The Standing Committee on Finance has urged the Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a special ‘NPA management cell’ to review write-offs and restructured advances.

This cell – which should be set up at the highest level – should also monitor the pace of recovery of non-performing assets (NPAs), the Parliamentary panel said in a report tabled in the Lok Sabha.

The panel said that the results achieved through these steps may be submitted to it within three months.

In the meantime, the names of all wilful defaulters (companies/directors) should be published appropriately, the Standing Committee has said.

The panel noted that the trend of recovery of NPAs through various channels during 2009-10 to 2011-12 was not satisfactory.

It said there was enough data to debunk the Finance Ministry’s tall claim that the steps taken by the Government and RBI had resulted in year-on-year improvement in recovery of NPAs by public sector banks (PSBs).

The facts available with the panel show that PSBs had failed to arrest rising NPAs, it said and added that this had undoubtedly affected their overall performance and weakened their ability to expand credit to deserving areas/sectors.