RBI wants lenders to proceed on defaulted loans - Axis Bank

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Axis Bank on Friday said the central bank has identified an additional list of defaulter companies that lenders must now focus on, potentially sending the firms to bankruptcy court should they fail to resolve the troubled loans by Dec. 13.

Axis did not disclose which companies were on the list, or how many, but said it had loans to 12 of the names provided to banks by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday.

Reuters had reported on Wednesday the RBI has asked banks to send at least 20 companies that defaulted on their debts to bankruptcy court if their problems are not resolved by about mid-December, citing a senior banker with direct knowledge of the matter.

 

The list of companies identified by the RBI was drafted after the central bank in June asked banks to take 12 of India's biggest defaulters to bankruptcy court under new powers given to it.

Axis Bank said it had outstanding loans of 18.43 billion rupees ($288 million) as of end-June to the 12 companies in the latest RBI list, and non-fund based outstanding loans of 6.49 billion rupees. The bank said about three quarters of the outstanding was secured, adding it has 8.62 billion rupees in provisions on those loans.

($1 = 63.9675 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)