UCO Bank chief calls for data mining to manage NPAs

Chairman and managing director of state-owned UCO Bank Arun Kaul on Saturday said data mining, the analytic process designed to explore the huge data, should be integrated with audit for better management of NPAs.

"The large database of banks should be analysed using analytics. This should be integrated with bank audit to improve the quality of audit and for better management of NPAs", Kaul said at a seminar on bank audit organised by ICAI here.

He said that current discussions doing the rounds in banking circle are on rising levels of stressed assets which needed a careful examination.

The plausible reasons for rising NPA levels could be attributed to slowdown in the economy or deficiency in due diligence, he said.

"There is a need for research on why the NPAs in the banking system are rising, in addition to a segmented and focused study", Kaul said.

Now many banks are resorting to forensic audit in case of high profile wilful defaulters, he said.

"It seems that banks are having a fear of lending. But there is no fear of defaulting", Kaul said.

UCO Bank had already identified Vijay Mallya of defunct Kingfisher Airlines as a wilful defaulter.

Yesterday, the shareholders of the bank approved issuance of preferential shared to LIC to raise Rs 400 crore.

The shares would be issued by March 31, 2015, Kaul said.