Indian banks write off Rs 1.7 trillion in loans in FY24, shows govt data

Indian banks have written off loans worth Rs 1.7 trillion in financial year 2023-24 (FY24), compared to Rs 2.08 trillion in FY23, according to data shared by Pankaj Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Finance, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha.

 

Loan write-offs by banks in FY24 are the lowest in the last five years. In FY20, banks had written off loans worth Rs 2.34 trillion; in FY21, they wrote off Rs 2.03 trillion; and in FY22, the number was Rs 1.75 trillion, the data showed.

 

In FY24, Punjab National Bank wrote off the highest amount of loans worth Rs 18,317 crore, followed by Union Bank of India (Rs 18,264 crore) and State Bank of India (Rs 16,161 crore).

 

Among private sector banks, HDFC Bank wrote off loans worth Rs 11,030 crore; ICICI Bank’s write-off was Rs 6,198 crore; and Axis Bank’s write-offs amounted to Rs 8,346 crore, the data showed.

 

Banks write off fully provisioned non-performing assets (NPAs) as per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) norms and bank board-approved policies.

 

In his response, Chaudhary said, “Such write-offs do not result in the waiver of liabilities of borrowers and therefore, write-offs do not benefit the borrower. The borrowers continue to be liable for repayment, and banks continue to pursue recovery actions initiated in these accounts.”