Lenders take stock of progress in NCLT cases

Focus on plugging gaps, improving coordination, keeping timelines

Lenders will work out procedures to follow timelines and coordination in cases taken for resolution at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
 
Senior public sector bank executives called Monday’s meeting a routine exercise where top bankers reviewed the progress made in work (for cases filed at NCLT). Banks will put in place necessary mechanism to ensure that the lenders do a good job.
 
“It was a stock-taking exercise. We want to smoothen the coordination among all the stakeholders,” said a banker.
 

It was the first such review exercise in seven weeks after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set in motion an action plan on 12 big-ticket bad loan cases.

 
On June 13, the banking regulator had asked certain banks to refer 12 non-performing accounts to the NCLT for possible liquidation process.
 
The RBI’s internal advisory panel had recommended for reference accounts with fund and non-fund based outstanding greater than Rs 5,000 crore, with 60 per cent or more classified as non-performing by banks as of March 31, 2016.
 
Banks have created a list of jobs at hand and articulated ways to carry out activities with timelines.
 
These 12 accounts are Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Electrosteel Steels, Amtek Auto, Bhusan Power and Steel, Alok Industries, Monnet Ispat and Lanco Infra, Era Infra, Jaypee Infratech, ABG Shipyard and Jyoti Structures.

 
These accounts constitute about 25 per cent of the current gross non-performing assets in the banking system.
 
Out of these 12 accounts, nine have already been referred to the NCLT, while Lanco Infra, Jaypee Infratech and Era Infra are yet to be admitted.