PNB Aims, To Recover Rs 32,000 Cr From Bad Loans Resolution This Fiscal

State-owned Punjab National Bank's Managing Director A K Goel on Friday said the lender is aiming about Rs 32,000 crore-worth recoveries from the resolution of bad loans in the current fiscal. The recovery in each quarter would be higher than the slippage, he said, adding that the bank's total recovery during the first quarter was Rs 7,057 crore.

The slippages were at Rs 6,468 crore during the same period. "We expects to recover Rs 8,000 crore every quarter and would ensure that its recoveries are higher than fresh slippages," he said. During the entire fiscal, he said, the recovery would be at least Rs 32,000 crore, including Rs 6,506 crore from cases before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

He also said the bank is contemplating to increase interest rate on Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) [FCNR(B)] deposits. The Asset Liability Committee (ALCO) of the bank would be meeting on Saturday to take a call on raising the rate. Some banks have already raised the interest rate on FCNR(B) as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted banks to hike the rate for a limited period to encourage inflow of foreign funds.

On interest rates, Goel said he believes that both deposit and lending rates could increase by 40-50 basis points by March 2023. With regard to capital, he said the board has approved capital raising of Rs 12,000 crore. Out of the total amount, Rs 5,500 crore would be for AT1 and the remaining Rs 6,500 crore for Tier-2 capital. The bank has a comfortable capital adequacy of 14.80 per cent as against the regulatory requirement of 11.5 per cent. About digital banking units announced in this year's budget, Goel said the bank had been allocated eight of the 75 branches planned, and all the eight would be operational from July 31.

(PTI)