11 PSB chiefs to appear before Parliamentary panel

Senior officials of 11 public sector banks (PSBs) will appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday on the issue of the banks' massive non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and increasing number of fraud cases, according to official sources here.

The committee, headed by Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, is preparing a report on the "Banking Sector in India - Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward, including Non-Performing Assets/Stressed Assets in Banks/Financial Institutions".

The PSBs due to make presentations before the Parliamentary panel and respond to their queries on June 26 are Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Corporation Bank, UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Maharashtra and United Bank of India, Finance Ministry sources said.

The accumulated NPAs in the Indian banking system have touched the staggering level of Rs 9 lakh crore, of which the bad loans of state-run banks amount to over Rs 7.5 lakh crore.

In February, the banking system was rocked by the Rs 13,000 crore fraud reported by state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) committed by the accused diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both of whom are absconding.

--IANS

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