NPAs part of biz but these have to be under control: R Subramaniakumar

IOB's gross and net NPAs were the highest during the quarter ended December, at 22.4%

Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has seen tough times during the past two years. Its non-performing assets (NPAs) have been growing, aggressive expansion increased costs and sudden migration to a new core bank system has put pressure on branches. The bank's gross and net NPAs were the highest during the quarter ended December, at 22.4 per cent and 14.3 per cent of total advances, respectively. This dragged growth down. R Subramaniakumar, executive director, who has additional charge as managing director & chief executive officer, spoke to T E Narasimhan on how the bank was addressing the challenges and how it