Govt’s Rs 70,000 crore infusion into banks unlikely to deliver higher lending: S&P

28 Aug 2019 Evaluate

Amid weak credit demand from corporates and the lingering Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) crisis, global rating agency S&P in its latest report has said that the government’s Rs 70,000 crore upfront capital infusion into state-run banks would not deliver on the key objectives of higher lending and a recovering in their fortunes. The report mentioned the overall improvement in asset quality will take a few more years and significantly hinges on the resolution of large Non-performing assets (NPAs).

It further highlighted that fragile financial markets, rising risk aversion, and weakness in some highly leveraged corporate sectors will continue to stress the asset quality and growth, adding that the key to banking recovery is the resolution of legacy weak assets. It can be noted that fixed capital formation by the corporates, which indicates the investment to create durable assets, has been lagging far behind historical averages for almost a decade now, leading to poor overall credit demand across industries.

Moreover, the report mentioned banks' credit growth is likely to be in line with the nominal Gross domestic product (GDP) growth, while their earnings will at best be marginal and system wide will remain weak. However, it said the plan to immediately infuse Rs 70,000 crore at one go will help replenish the depleted capital base of public sector banks. The government expects the move to lead to an incremental lending of around Rs 5 trillion and help revive the bleeding banks.

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