Thanks to NCLT, SBI finds fear can be potent weapon in recovering loans

Recent bankruptcy proceedings that wrested prominent companies from their owners were a wake up call for India's business community

With Rs 1.8 trillion ($25 billion) in bad corporate debt to clean up, State Bank of India is having an easier time negotiating with founders keen to avoid the nation’s two-year-old bankruptcy law, according to Anshula Kant, a managing director overseeing stressed assets at the lender. That’s because a crackdown by policy makers has convinced business owners that they risk losing their companies once the courts become involved.

“The first thing they say when they come to us is ‘Madam please don’t send us to NCLT,’" she said, referring to the National Company Law Tribunal, which oversees bankruptcy cases. If