SBI, the lead lender to Kingfisher Airlines, today said it is not for shutting down of the cash-strapped carrier but the lenders needed to take measures to recover loans given to it.
"We do not like shutting down of Kingfisher, but we also need to take measures as taken in the last couple of weeks. We have asked Kingfisher to start the process of valuation of non-core assets so that we know how much we could get if they were disposed off," SBI Managing Director A Krishna Kumar said.
The cash-strapped airline owes Rs 7,500 crore and accumulated interest from January to the 17-bank consortium, led by the State Bank of India (SBI) which alone has an exposure of Rs 1,400 crore.
On July 5, the consortium had a meeting with the airline management, after which the lenders said they had hired HDFC Securities to do a valuation of Kingfisher properties and come up with a report within 15 days.
Asked how much the lenders could raise from these properties, Kumar said, "At the moment I do not know. Once the valuation is done, we will have the correct estimate."
After the meeting, the airline had said in a statement, "As far as Kingfisher House is concerned, this property is now vacant following the move to The Qube. This property is intended for sale and once again, the consortium was voluntarily approached for permission to sell with the proceeds being paid to the banks."
It had also said the meeting with the bank consortium was convened in the "normal course with a properly circulated agenda. There was no discussion on loan recovery or forced sale of any collateral."
