Bank NPAs at multi-decade lows as gross NPA ratio falls to 2.1%: RBI data

RBI's Trends and Progress report shows banks' asset quality improved, with gross NPAs down to 2.1% by September 2025 and net NPAs at 0.5%, aided by recoveries and provisioning

Asset quality of commercial banks continued to improve, with the ratio of gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) to gross advances declining to 2.1 per cent as of September 30 and net NPAs falling to 0.5 per cent, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

During 2024-25, about 42.8 per cent of the reduction in GNPAs was attributable to recoveries and upgrades. The net NPA (NNPA) ratio also declined to 0.5 per cent at the end of March, partly reflecting higher provisioning, the RBI said in its annual Trends and Progress of Banking in India report released on Monday.

   

The report said the slippage ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), which measures new accretions to NPAs as a share of standard advances at the beginning of the year, declined for the fifth consecutive year to 1.4 per cent at the end of March 2025.

 

The slippage ratio for both public-sector banks and private lenders declined, although it remained higher for PVBs.