Bank stocks gain as Arun Jaitley promises speedy resolution of bad loans

It hopes that government would soon announce measures to resolve the issue of bad loans

Shares of public sector banks rallied sharply on Friday on hopes the government would soon announce measures to resolve the issue of bad loans. The rise was sparked by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s comments that the government, along with the Reserve Bank of India, would announce measures to tackle the non-performing asset problem. The Nifty Bank index gained 1.1 per cent, while the Nifty PSU Bank index rallied 3.3 per cent. Oriental Bank of Commerce rallied 6.6 per cent, Bank of India gained 5.2 per cent, while Syndicate Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank gained over four per cent each on the BSE.