BoI to sell NPAs worth Rs 900 cr in fourth quarter

Bank of India (BoI) has marginally lowered its guidance for net interest margins (domestic business) for the March 2014 quarter to 2.9 per cent from three per cent. For FY14, the bank expects 25-26 per cent growth in deposits and 20-21 per cent in credit, BoI's chairperson and managing director V R Iyer said.

In the current quarter, the bank also plans to sell about Rs 900 crore worth of non-performing assets (NPAs) to asset reconstruction companies. It had auctioned Rs 2,000 crore of NPAs in the second and third quarters, but only Rs 627 crore was from the gross NPA level, the rest was from written-off assets.

Iyer said that the bank sold NPAs in the first two quarters above the net book value without taking any haircut. "The bank has got the excess provisioning, which we can use it if we are compelled to sell them (NPAs) at less than the book value this quarter."

Card-less ATM withdrawal
The state-run bank on Monday launched 'instant money transfer' service, which allows card-less cash withdrawal from select ATMs. The service allows a customer to send money to a receiver by using the receiver's mobile number through the bank's ATM or using internet banking facility. The receiver can withdraw money from designated BoI ATMs without using a debit card.

The receiver would receive partial details for cash withdrawal on mobile phones.

"This service is in line with the RBI's expectation of expanding financial inclusion, wherein fund transfer can happen from account holders to those without accounts through ATMs," said Iyer.