Business

Large industries account for sizable share of bank NPAs

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 17. Contrary to general perception, the small scale industry (SSI) sector is as much responsible as the large industrial houses for the huge non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of the banking sector. In fact, the amount owed by the SSI sector is near about the money owed by large industries.

Details made available by the Union Finance Ministry reveal that out of the total Rs. 54,773 crore NPAs of the public sector banks as of March 31, 2001, the large industries accounted for Rs. 11,498 crores while the SSI sector had outstandings of Rs. 10,284 crores. Medium-sized industries accounted for another Rs. 8,658 crores while sundry debtors were responsible for the balance NPAs.

Topping the list with the largest amount of NPAs is the largest bank in the country, State Bank of India (SBI) which has Rs. 15,847 crores as gross NPAs on its balance sheet. But what is significant is that while large industries owe Rs. 2,625 crores to SBI, the small-scale sector has to pay up Rs. 2,898 crores while medium industries owe the maximum of Rs. 3,691 crores to SBI.

The SBI group as a whole, comprising banks of Bikaner and Jaipur, Hyderabad, Indore, Mysore, Patiala, Saurashtra and Travancore, had gross NPAs worth Rs. 20,592 crores of which large industries accounted for Rs. 3,894 crores, the small industries Rs. 3,785 crores and the medium-sized units Rs 4,228 crores. The NPAs of other nationalised banks work out to Rs. 34,180 crores with the respective shares of large industries at Rs. 7,603 crores, medium units Rs. 4,430 crores and the SSI sector Rs. 6,499 crores.

Among the non-SBI group nationalised banks, Bank of Baroda had the highest NPAs at Rs. 4,185 crores while Andhra Bank had the lowest at Rs. 470 crores. Interestingly, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Punjab and Sind Bank do not have any NPAs against large industries, according to figures given out by the Finance Ministry.

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