Sashakt scheme to stabilise bank books in medium term: Fitch

09 Jul 2018 Evaluate

Amid rising bad loans in banking sector, Fitch Ratings, in its latest report on the banking sector in India and Indonesia, has said the new ‘Sashakt’ scheme to tackle non-performing loans (NPL) through a market-led approach could stabilise balance sheets in the medium term. It also said that a further downside risk exists if bad loan problems and thin loss-absorption buffers persist. But there are many initiatives in the works to repair the books of banks, especially public sector banks. The deteriorating condition of Indian banks means they are relying more on state support. The long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of all government banks are based entirely on sovereign support.

The rating agency highlighted the successful resolution of bad loans currently under the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the government's plan to infuse an additional $11 billion in current financial year (FY19) could stabilise balance sheets over the medium term. It has downgraded the viability ratings of several of these banks over the past four years due to their weakening intrinsic strength.

Besides, it’s the negative sector outlook on Indian banks that has been maintained for several years on account of continuing problems with bad loans and paucity of capital. In the last financial year (FY18), Indian banks reported large losses as the new regulatory NPL framework accelerated bad-loan recognition and pushed up banks' credit costs. As a result, the sector’s NPL ratio rose to 12.1 per cent, from 9.6 per cent in FY17, and 4.1 per cent in FY14. Under Project Sashakt, financial institutions will enter into an inter-creditor agreement to authorise the lead bank to implement a resolution plan in 180 days.

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