Sydicate Bank says its stressed assets will shrink in the coming quarters

Sydicate Bank chairman and managing director Sudhir Kumar Jain today said the bank expects to reduce stressed assets through recovery and upgradation from the next quarter.

The bank's net non performing assets(NPAs) increased to 1.19% during the first quarter ending June, 2013 from 0.93% in the year ago period. The management has set up a Stressed Tiny Assets Recovery Team(Start) to monitor the accounts with loans of Rs 4 lakh and above as most of the bank's NPAs fall in the retail category.

"Our exposure to large corporate accounts involving stalled infrastructure projects is just around Rs 1,000 crore. Therefore, the renewed focus on recovery of small loans by our staff  will improve the situation in the days to come," he said.

However,  the process of restructuring of loans will continue in the coming quarters as this measure is necessary to help the clients affected by the business cycles, he said. During the first quarter the bank has restructured the loans amounting to Rs 883 crores, according to him.

Responding to a question on the interest rates, Sudhir Kumar said there was no move to increase the rates as they think the Reserve Bank of India's recent money tightening measures are of the temporary nature and these measures could be reversed any time soon.

The bank aims to achieve a target of Rs 3.8 lakh crore in  overall business by the end of the current year from Rs 3.34 lakh crore in the last fiscal.