After bad loan issue, experts see more pain ahead for Bank of Baroda

Government-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) is yet to come out of the woods. Some more pain — it reported a spike in bad loans during the December quarter — is possible, say analysts, given the economic slowdown. Credit costs could stay elevated in the coming financial year.

Says Lalitabh Shrivastawa, deputy vice- president at financial services entity Sharekhan: “In the September quarter, the bank’s slippages were expected to have peaked out. However, even after removing the divergence-related impact, the quantum of slippage continued to remain elevated in Q3 (October-December). We expect asset quality pain to continue in the near term, while