PNB gets tough with wilful defaulters, identifies 400 to sell Rs 3K crore NPAs

"400 accounts are there (wilful defaulters) which we have reported to RBI so that it (list) can be updated on website of RBI," Punjab National Bank Executive Director (with additional charge of MD and CEO) Gauri Shankar said here.

He also said the bank has identified corporate accounts and the work is underway for their strategic debt restructuring as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines. "Let me tell you, 4-5 companies' accounts (stressed assets), we have already identified. Work is on for strategic debt restructuring, which we are going to do as per RBI guidelines," he said. "The fresh restructuring done during the first quarter is just Rs 676 crores in 22 accounts," he added. The sectors in which restructuring has taken place include power and steel. 

Shankar said PNB plans to sell NPAs worth Rs 2,600-3,000 crore to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in the current financial year, ending March 31, 2016. On the bank's going to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), he said it would be done next fiscal.

Pulled down by higher bad loan provisioning, PNB's net profit during the June quarter nearly halved to Rs 721 crore. PNB's first quarter net profit of current fiscal today showed 48.68 <g data-gr-id="35">per cent</g> decline, from Rs 1,405 crore reported the same quarter of 2014-15 fiscal.

Meanwhile,  PNB on Tuesday posted a 48.68 per cent plunge in its first quarter net profit at Rs 721 crore, dragged down by higher bad loan provisioning and subdued credit growth. The bank’s net profit for the June quarter a year ago stood at Rs 1,405 crore, it said in a statement.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) increased to Rs 25,397 crore in the June quarter as against Rs 19,603 crore in the same period last year, the statement said.

The gross NPAs of the bank as a percentage of total advances rose to 6.47 per cent during the April-June quarter, compared with 5.48 per cent in the year-ago period. The bank’s provisioning during the June quarter rose to Rs 1,811 crore, from Rs 928 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

“Credit of the Bank for the first quarter of the current fiscal registered a growth of 9.6 per cent to Rs 3,80,880 crore. The growth in credit in the first quarter was not as much as we were envisaging. 

Probably Q2 is going to be better, Q3 will be still better and I am going to end this year with really wonderful results,” PNB Executive Director (with additional charge of MD & CEO) Gauri Shankar said.