The Centre is pushing for a faster resolution of the piling bad assets in the banks’ balance sheets. After meeting with top lenders from the industry last week, the government has swung into action to tackle the non-performing assets or NPA situation.
Ritu Singh of CNBC-TV18 reported that the Department of Financial Services has called for a meeting of select public sector bank representatives and the asset reconstruction companies to take stock of the situation. Financial Services Secretary Hasmukh Adhia is likely to preside over the meeting, which is expected to take place on June 17. The meeting will bring together both the parties to see how the sale of bad loans can be expedited.
The sale of NPAs to ARCs had taken a hit in the recent past after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) diktat that ARCs will need more money upfront to buy bad loans.
Representatives of the RBI may also be attending the meeting. Last Friday, the Finance Minister had asserted that although the gross NPAs of the banking industry had fallen to 5.2 percent in the March quarter from the earlier 5.6 percent, the stress was far from over. Arun Jaitley had said it may take at least another two to three quarters for bad loans to start coming off for good.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!