At Rs 7.34 lakh cr, public sector banks reeling with 77% of total bad loans

Bad loans of Public sector banks (PSBs) stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by the end of second quarter this fiscal, a bulk of which came from corporate defaulters, according to Reserve Bank data.

However, on the other hand private sector banks' non- performing assets (NPAs) were considerably low at Rs 1.03 lakh crore by September 30.

"The gross non-performing assets of public sector and private sector banks as on September 30, 2017 were Rs 7,33,974 crore, Rs 1,02,808 crore, respectively," the finance ministry said citing RBI data.

The government said leading corporate houses and companies accounted for approximately 77 per cent of the total gross NPAs from domestic operations for the banks.

Among the major public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) had the highest amount of NPAs at over Rs 1.86 lakh crore followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 57,630 crore), Bank of India (Rs 49,307 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 46,307 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 39,164 crore) and Union Bank of India (Rs 38,286 crore).

Among private sector lenders, ICICI Bank had the highest amount of NPAs on its books at Rs 44,237 crore by the end of September, followed by Axis Bank (Rs 22,136 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 7,644 crore) and Jammu and Kashmir Bank (Rs 5,983 crore).

Host of provisions have been restored for the recovery of the bad loans, the ministry said, adding that the network of Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) have been expanded. There are 39 DRTs now as compared to 33 in 2016-17 that will help reduce the pending cases as well as expedite disposal of cases.