NPA crisis: IDBI Bank under RBI watch over high level of bad loans

The bank's stressed assets zoomed 80% year-on-year to Rs 35,245 crore in December quarter

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put IDBI Bank under watch by initiating Prompt Corrective Action against it, a move that will place various restrictions on the lender including on fresh loans and dividend distribution.

"This is to inform that RBI (on May 5) has initiated Prompt Corrective Action for IDBI Bank in view of high net NPA and negative RoA (return on assets)," IDBI bank said in a regulatory filing.

The gross non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of the bank shot up by 80% to Rs 35,245 crore and it booked a loss Rs 2,255 crore for the December quarter.

Its RoA also declined to (-)2.32 at the end of the third quarter of 2016-17.

The statement further said this action will not have any material impact on the performance of the bank and will contribute to improving the internal controls of the bank and improvement in its activities.

Indian Overseas Bank was also put under 'Prompt Corrective Action' (PCA) in 2015 when its gross NPAs touched 10%. But the strict condition imposed by RBI was gradually lifted with improvement in its financials.

RBI last month issued a new set of enabling provisions under the revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement then it could be either be merged or taken be over by other bank.

RBI said the new set of provisions is effective April 1 based on the financials of each bank as of March 2017, and override the existing PCA framework. It also said the new framework will be reviewed after three years.

"A bank will be placed under PCA framework based on the audited annual financial results and RBIs supervisory assessment. However, RBI may impose PCA on any bank during the course of a year, including migration from one threshold to another, in case the circumstances so warrant," RBI had said.

More importantly, if a bank crosses the third level of risk threshold (wherein a banks common equity tier-1 capital falls below the threshold of 3.625% by 3.125% or more) the said bank will be either amalgamated or merged or taken over by another entity.

"Breach of risk threshold 3 of CET1 by a bank would identify it as a likely candidate for resolution through tools like amalgamation, reconstruction, winding up etc," RBI had said.

It had also said in case a "bank defaults in meeting the obligations to its depositors, possible resolution processes may be resorted to without reference to the PCA matrix.