Tough times for leveraged firms

Ability to generate steady cash profits is a prized attribute

The latest Financial Stability Report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggests that the banking sector continues to be deep in crisis. In the previous report, in December 2017, the central bank had estimated that, in its ‘baseline scenario non-performing assets’ (NPAs) would peak in September 2018 at 11. 1 per cent of all advances, after hitting 10.8 per cent in March 2018. 

By March 2018, the NPA ratio stood at 11.6 per cent. The public sector banks, which own about 72 per cent of total advances, saw NPAs hit 15.6 per cent of all advances by March 2018.