FM to meet CEOs of PSU banks to discuss ways of increasing credit growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet CEOs of public sector banks on Friday to review financial performance of the lenders and discuss ways to increase credit growth to propel economy, sources said.

According to sources, the meeting will also review progress of resolution of NPAs under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The meeting is expected to take stock of the banking sector and discuss ways to improve their financial health and credit delivery to important sectors of the economy, they said.

The credit growth has just crossed double-digit mark amid crisis in the NBFC sector.

Secretaries of department of revenue and corporate affairs ministry will attend the meeting, sources said.

In the last few months, there have been signs of revival in public sector banks.

State-owned banks have recovered Rs 3.59 trillion over the last four financial years, including record recovery of Rs 1.23 trillion during 2018-19, the government said in a reply to a question in Parliament recently.

The provision coverage ratio has increased from 46 per cent in March 2015 to 74.2 per cent in March 2019, it had said.

The country's largest lender State Bank of India has lending worth Rs 1.76 trillion classified as NPA till march 2019. State-run banks had 8,582 wilful defaulters as at March-end, as against 7,535 a year earlier, the government said.

As much as Rs 7,654 crore has been recovered from wilful defaulter accounts during the last five financial years.