State-run lender OBC posts $245 mln Q4 loss

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's state-run Oriental Bank of Commerce reported a 16.50 billion-rupee ($245 million) net loss for its fourth quarter on Saturday as bad loans surged due to new central bank rules.

The bank posted losses of 12.18 billion rupees a year ago.

Indian banks, already burdened by a near-record 9.5 trillion rupees of soured loans, have been expected to report a further rise in the March quarter after the Reserve Bank of India withdrew loan restructuring schemes to hasten a clean-up.

($1 = 67.3900 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Alexander Smith)