Public sector banks reduce sticky assets

First quarter sees A 3.6 per cent decline in the non-performing assets of 19 public sector banks

Net non-performing assets (NPAs) of 19 listed public sector banks (PSBs) declined 3.6 per cent or by Rs 557 crore in the quarter ended June 2004.

In absolute term, NPAs of these banks stand at Rs 14,977 crore as on June 30, 2004, slipping down from Rs 15,554 crore as on March 31, 2004.

Of these, 13 PSBs have brought down their NPA level by 11 per cent or by Rs 872 crore to Rs 7,107 crore. While five other PSBs saw this level going up by 4.2 per cent or by Rs 315.34 crore to Rs 7,869 crore. Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) remained a zero NPA bank.

In percentage terms, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ) with a 46.9 per cent decline in net non-performing assets topped the list.

Its doubtful loans declined from Rs 107.17 crore to Rs 56.86 crore.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) came second as its net doubtful loans came down by 43.8 per cent from Rs 449 crore to Rs 253 crore in the period.

Other banks which showed substantial drop were State Bank of Travancore (down 26 per cent), Allahabad Bank (25 per cent) and Vijaya Bank (22.5 per cent).

However, the net sticky assets of five public sector banks increased by Rs 315 crore to Rs 7,869 crore. Syndicate Bank tops the list with its net NPA rising 27.8 per cent from Rs 532 crore to Rs 680 crore.

The net non-performing assets of Bank of Maharashtra climbed 13.6 per cent, from Rs 288 crore to Rs 327 crore. Corporation Bank's figures went up by 4.5 per cent, from Rs 250 crore to Rs 261 crore and State Bank of India's (SBI) net NPA went up by 1.9 per cent, from Rs 5,442 crore to Rs 5,544 crore. Bank of Baroda posted 1.4 per cent rise in net NPA to Rs 1,042 crore.

On gross NPA front, the aggregate gross NPA for 10 public sector banks rose by Rs 764 crore. SBI had the largest rise of Rs 204 crore in gross NPA which surged from Rs 12,667 crore to Rs 12,872 crore. SBI is followed by Syndicate Bank (Rs 197 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 131 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 82 crore) and Bank of Maharashtra (Rs 39 crore).

Of the 19 listed PSBs, net NPA to net advances ratio has came down below 3.5 per cent, except in case of two banks. The lowest net NPA to net advances ratio for PNB is at 0.55 per cent, followed by SBBJ (0.65 per cent), Vijaya Bank (0.68 per cent) and Andhra Bank (0.85 per cent).

At the same time, nine PSBs reduced their gross NPA to Rs 288 crore. Major among them are UCO Bank (Rs 91 crore), Union Bank of India (Rs 68 crore), PNB (Rs 50 crore), Bank of India (Rs 37 crore) and Allahabad Bank (Rs 32 crore).