Kolkata, July 22 -- Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have written off loans worth Rs 12,08,828 crore from the financial year 2015-16 to 2024-25 (provisional data), the Ministry of Finance informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday in response to a question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Ritabrata Banerjee.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, stated that the figures are based on data provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The reply also included bank-wise and year-wise data for the last five financial years.
State Bank of India reported the highest amount of write-offs among PSBs, with Rs 34,402 crore in FY2020-21 and Rs 20,309 crore in FY2024-25 (provisional). Other banks with high write-offs over the years include Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Bank of India.
Bank-wise data showed a fluctuating trend over the years. For example, Punjab National Bank's write-offs rose from Rs 15,877 crore in FY 2020-21 to Rs 18,317 crore in FY 2023-24, before falling to Rs 12,159 crore (provisional) in FY2024-25. The write-offs of Union Bank of India peaked at Rs 19,484 crore in FY 2021-22.
The minister clarified that such write-offs pertain to non-performing assets (NPAs) for which full provisioning has been made after four years, as per RBI guidelines.
However, this does not mean the borrower is discharged of liability. "Borrowers continue to be liable for repayment and banks continue to pursue recovery actions," the reply stated.
The reply also stated that recovery measures include filing of suits in civil courts, proceedings before Debt Recovery Tribunals, action under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, and the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.