BHUBANESWAR: The mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) of commercial banks operating in Odisha continue to be a major concern for the banking sector and the State Government as well.
The NPAs of the banks have increased to Rs 9348.20 crore which is about 9.49 per cent of the total outstanding of Rs 98,465.61 crore by the end of the third quarter of the current fiscal.
While the NPAs in the priority sector advance is 10.23 per cent, it is 8.47 per cent in the non-priority sector lending.
The NPA position of all banks in priority sector as on December 31, 2015 was Rs 5860.83 crore as against an advance of Rs 57,291.43 crore.
In non-priority sector lending, the doubtful assets of banks were estimated at Rs 3487.37 crore against total outstanding of Rs 41,174.18 crore.
The NPAs of the banks by the end of September, 2015 were Rs 8,495.74 crore, which was 9.34 per cent of the total outstanding advances of Rs 90,962.89 crore, said a member of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC).
“Rising NPAs in Odisha is a matter of great concern. The percentage of NPAs of public and private sector banks, regional rural banks (RRBs) and Odisha State Cooperative Bank (OSCB) is 10.53, 0.68, 24.11 and 7.52 respectively,” the SLBC report said.
For Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Weaver Credit Card (WCC), the recovery performance, NPAs and overdue percentage are too high, which can only be rated as unsatisfactory, the report added.
The NPAs to the outstanding advances to PMEGP and PMRY are 40.33 per cent, 23.74 per cent for SJSRY, 27.64 per cent for SHG loans and 17.28 per cent for WCC.
“The Banks are facing problem to recycle funds due to non repayment of loans, mounting overdue and rising NPAs. Banks and Government Departments have to make joint efforts with specific strategies to improve the recovery performance for better recycling of funds,” said a general manager of a leading bank.
The NPA position of RRBs is highest with 24.11 per cent while bad loan of public sector banks is 10.53 per cent. The OSCB has 7.52 per cent NPAs. With limited exposure to priority sector lending, the private banks have played safe with only 0.68 per cent NPAs.