Public sector banks face Rs 66,190 cr in wilful defaults, SBI tops list

FinMin data shows SBI tops list with Rs 11,705 crore in wilful defaults, followed closely by Punjab National Bank, with Rs 10869.72 crore

Indian public sector banks were owed a total of Rs 66190 crore by way of wilful defaults at the end of calendar year 2015, data from the Finance Ministry shows.

The numbers, which are broken down by PSBs, including the SBI Group, were released in the Rajya Sabha in response to a member’s question to be answered on April 26, 2016.

State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, topped the list with Rs 11,705 crore in wilful defaults, followed closely by Punjab National Bank, which had Rs 10869.72 crore in wilful defaults, and Central Bank of India with Rs 4408.52 crore.

The total outstanding of the top 100 non-performing accounts (NPAs) of PSBs stood at Rs 1,72,718 crore as on December end 2015.

The SBI Group has 1700 defaulters who account for Rs 18,666 crore in wilful defaults. Of this, SBI alone has 1164 wilful defaulters, or nearly 69% of the total. The SBI group comprises the State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, Hyderabad, India, Mysore, Patiala, and Travancore.

Discounting this group, other PSBs have Rs 47,524 crore in 5.986 wilful defaults. Suits have filed against 5202 wilful defaulters to recover Rs 43155 crore, while First Information Reports (FIR) have been filed against 1540 entities for Rs 16184 crore. As much as Rs 36,332 crore has been marked for Sarfaesi action, or repossession/sale of assets.

The SBI Group has filed 1614 suits to recover Rs 15345 crore and 129 FIRs for Rs 2027 crore, besides intiating Sarfaesi action against 1549 entities to recover Rs 17,075 crore.

In his reply, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley noted that “The recovery in NPA accounts has increased from Rs 66,634 crore as at end March 2014 to Rs 74,130 crore as at end March 2015. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), regulator for banking sector, has taken various steps which include (i) Formation of Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) for revitalizing stressed assets in the system, (ii) Flexible Structuring for long term project loans to Infrastructure and Core industries, and (iii) Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) scheme.”

In addition, he noted, the central government has approved six new Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) to speed up recovery of loans, in addition to the existing 33.

A rising tide of NPAs among PSBs has prompted the Reserve Bank of India to crack down on state-run banks to clean up their books, and to set aside sufficient provisioning for bad loans. Public sector banks have been suspected of lending more to defaulters in hopes of getting their businesses back on track instead of marking them as bad loans.  

WILFUL DEFAULTERS  (As on 31.12.2015) - (Amount in Rs. Crore)
BANK	TOTAL WILFUL DEFAULTERS		OUT OF TOTAL WILFUL DEFAULTERS
			SUIT FILED		FIRs FILED		SARFAESI ACTION INITIATED
	NO	AMOUNT	NO	AMOUNT	NO	AMOUNT	NO	AMOUNT
Allahabad Bank	32	495.73	31	487.73	14	243.72	24	426.98
Andhra Bank	376	2957.96	284	2432.12	158	710.05	292	2676.06
Bank of Baroda	177	1189.15	175	1188.92	60	817.16	98	893.34
Bank of India	183	2708.97	124	2061.18	7	579.86	60	878.84
Bank of Maharashtra	91	771.91	91	771.91	56	179.22	58	467.17
Canara Bank	615	3213.00	611	3211.00	256	1981.00	455	2766.00
Central Bank of India	730	4408.52	630	4040.82	51	2365.34	705	3477.31
Corporation Bank	123	2256.16	100	2048.26	4	111.40	20	254.22
Dena Bank	155	814.93	143	802.30	18	211.75	64	633.13
IDBI Bank Limited	70	1982.80	69	1974.15	5	332.76	26	1386.92
Indian Bank	50	283.02	49	283.02	33	148.76	37	267.63
Indian Overseas Bank	70	473.62	63	488.83	47	360.05	69	424.46
Oriental Bank of Commerce	373	3834.35	339	3545.83	80	1487.89	231	2919.27
Punjab & Sind Bank	25	255.64	25	331.72	25	331.72	16	285.68
Punjab National Bank	904	10869.72	708	9561.50	249	3805.10	691	9671.88
Syndicate Bank	206	922.09	165	669.59	118	108.56	85	467.84
UCO Bank	628	4251.04	493	4099.59	98	725.72	474	3966.07
Union Bank of India	657	3066.42	612	2994.67	85	722.28	574	2618.7
United Bank of India	411	1880.13	385	1392.38	128	386.55	233	1078.3
Vijaya Bank	110	888.85	105	769.21	48	575.6	79	771.92
Nationalised Banks	5986	47524	5202	43155	1540	16184	4291	36332
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur	83	1731.95	81	1635.78	51	860.23	26	939.39
State Bank of Hyderabad	197	2088.11	197	2088.11	9	476.61	194	1940.51
State Bank of India	1164	11705.00	1104	8961.00	16	13.100	1164	11705.00
State Bank of Mysore	67	973.75	67	973.75	9	301.91	65	972.09
State Bank of Patiala	124	1327.54	101	847.85	42	228.49	89	1271.48
State Bank of Travancore	65	839.97	64	838.46	2	147.05	11	246.38
SBI Group	1700	18666	1614	15345	129	2027	1549	17075
Public Sector Banks	7686	66190	6816	58500	1669	18212	5840	53407
Source : PSBs