State banks' bad loans likely higher by end-March - Chidambaram

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run banks' bad loans are expected to be slightly higher by March-end from a year earlier, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Wednesday after reviewing their quarterly performance.

He added that banks recovered bad loans worth 189.33 billion rupees during April to December.

Rising bad loans especially among state-run banks have become a key concern for lenders in India where recently a state-run lender, United Bank of India , saw a huge surge in its non-performing loans, triggering worries over its capital needs.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)