PNB puts 21 NPA accounts on sale to recover over Rs 13.2 billion

The accounts include Moser Baer Solar, Divine Alloys & Power Co Ltd, Divine Vidyut, and others

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Punjab National Bank has put nearly two dozen non-performing accounts (NPAs) on sale to recover over Rs 13.2 billion.

The bank's Stressed Assets Targeted Resolution Action (SASTRA) Division, which is handling the sale of stressed assets to recover dues, has put on sale a total of 21 accounts, which cumulatively owe PNB Rs 13.20.19 billion.

"We intend to place these accounts for sale to ARCs/NBFCs/other banks/FIs etc, on terms and conditions stipulated in the bank's policy, in line with the regulatory guidelines," PNB said in a notification.

The accounts include Moser Baer Solar, which has an outstanding of Rs 2.3306 billion, Divine Alloys & Power Co Ltd Rs 2.0087 billion, Divine Vidyut Rs 1.3266 billion, Chincholi Sugar & Bio Industries Rs 1.1442 billion, Arshiya Northern FTWZ Ltd Rs 967 million, Birla Surya Rs 735.8 million, Shri Saikrupa Sugar & Allied Industries Rs 633.5 million and Raja Forgings & Gears Ltd Rs 597.3 million.

Templeton Foods (Rs 531.7 million), Paritran Medical College & Hospital (Rs 511.4 million), Rathi Ispat (Rs 454.8 million), James Hotel (Rs 335.0 million) and Jain Overseas (Rs 334.1 million) are among the other big loan defaulters.

The remaining firms which are listed in the sale process are Dharmnath Investment, The Mobile Store Services, Avon Life Sciences, Zoom Vallabh Steel, Collage Estate Pvt Ltd, Crown Milk Specialities and Gurukul Education & Charitable Trust.

PNB said the submission of financial bids will be only through e-auction method which will take place on the bank's portal on September 20.

These accounts are concentrated at Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Patna, Chandigarh and Patna zones of Punjab National Bank.

The public sector lender had put three NPA accounts for sale in April this fiscal and another three accounts in July with collective dues of more than Rs 3.50 billion.

The scam-hit lender made NPA recoveries of over Rs 77.00 billion in the first quarter of 2018-19, which surpassed the total recoveries it made in full 2017-18, as the bank intensified its efforts to cut bad loans from its balance sheet.

Jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, in connivance with certain PNB officials posted at a Mumbai branch of PNB, allegedly cheated the bank of about Rs 140.00 billion through issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).

PNB had unearthed the fraud in February this year and reported to relevant authorities. A multi-agency probe is presently on in the matter.

The bank had gross bad loans of Rs 828.8879 billion on its books by the end of the first quarter of this fiscal, which was over 18 per cent of the gross loans.