Private banks' NPA provisions surge in second quarter

The sequential increase is led by RBI's audit of asset quality for FY17

The expectation of a stable asset quality profile for private banks has been shattered in the second quarter ended September 2017 (Q2) as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked some banks to treat certain accounts as bad loans and accordingly make provisions.

Termed “divergence” in industry parlance, the difference in views over bad loans has hurt investor sentiment. 

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of 13 private lenders that have declared their results so far in Q2 increased to Rs 96,987 crore by the end of the quarter from Rs 87,664 crore for the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1 FY18).

Gross