While public sector banks have claimed a ₹1,50,960 crore reduction in their non-performing asset (NPA) levels over 2017-18, about 55% of this was due to write-offs and only 27% was actual recoveries, according to data provided by RBI Governor Urjit Patel to the parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.
According to the data reviewed by The Hindu , public sector banks saw a ₹1,50,960 crore reduction in their NPA levels from the start of financial year 2017-18 till December 31, 2017. However, the data also showed that the same period saw ₹2,37,475 crore of loans being added to the NPA list, thereby leading to an overall worsening of the NPA situation. Further, within the ₹1,50,960 crore ‘reduction in NPAs’, about 55% or ₹84,272 crore was due to write-offs. The data shows that only ₹41,391 crore, or 27%, of the reduction in NPA levels was due to actual recoveries. In addition, ₹25,297 crore worth of loans were upgraded from NPA status.
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Private sector banks saw a reduction of ₹46,091 crore in their NPA levels by December 31, 2017 compared with what they were as of April 1, 2017. But, fresh additions to the NPA list amounted to ₹60,800 crore.
For private sector banks, about 40.2% of the reduction in their NPA levels was due to write-offs. Actual recoveries accounted for 34.2% of the reduction, while upgrades accounted for 24.1% of the reductions. Gross NPAs with public sector banks stood at ₹7,77,280 crore at the end of December 2017, up from ₹5,39,968 crore as on March 31, 2016. For private sector banks, gross NPA levels grew to ₹1,07,796 crore by December 31, 2017 from ₹55,853 crore as on March 31, 2016.
The data also showed that bank frauds increased in both number and value over the last three years.
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While 4,693 frauds of more than ₹1 lakh were reported in 2015-16, this increased to 5,904 in 2017-18, an increase of about 26%. Over the same period, the value of these frauds increased from ₹18,698.8 crore to ₹32,361.27 crore.