United Bank of India (UBI) clocked a 47.3 per cent rise in its net profit in the first quarter ended June 30, 2014, at Rs.65.8 crore.
The bank, which has now launched an aggressive recovery drive, said that once the legal issues regarding declaring Vijay Mallya a defaulter was resolved, it would do the needful.
“We are on a strong wicket, he has been identified as defaulter but the matter is in court and we will proceed once that is resolved,” an official said. Kingfisher Airlines’ dues to the bank are estimated at around Rs.330 crore.
Executive Director Sanjay Arya said that with sustained efforts, cash recovery during the first quarter increased to Rs.340 crore from Rs.65 crore a year ago while Rs.626 crore of non-performing assets were upgraded during the quarter compared to Rs.91 crore a year ago.
Mr. Arya along with Deepak Narang, another Executive Director, now run the bank since the resignation of the former Chairman and Managing Director Anjana Bhargava in February 2014, when the bank plunged into huge losses.
Gross NPAGross NPA of the bank dropped to Rs.7,097 crore during the quarter under review from Rs.7,118 crore at March-end 2014.
Mr. Arya said that the government infused Rs.275 crore into the bank during the quarter and capital adequacy ratio was now at 9.8 per cent against the 9 per cent stipulated under BASEL III norms.
“Let us forget the past and move forward,” Mr. Narang said adding that the aim was to stabilise the recovery process. UBI had reported a record Rs.1,231-crore loss in the October-December 2013 quarter against Rs.485 crore loss in the previous quarter.
Its problems were traced to its mounting bad loans much of which went unreported. Most of these NPAs were in the sub-Rs.10 lakh category but officials said that several big loans which turned sticky also contributed to the poor balance-sheet.
The state of affairs came to light following a review by the Reserve Bank of India in mid-2013.
