With an aim to faster manage stressed assets or NPAs, the government is mulling over a plan to set up an oversight committee. A detailed discussion was held with bankers on several aspects on banking particularly related with improvement in credit flow while mitigating risks associated with that, interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. A panel under Punjab National Bank (PNB) non-executive chairman Sunil Mehta will consider setting up ARC or AMC to resolve stressed assets within two weeks, he added. On being asked about the need for more fund infusion into the public sector banks, Piyush Goyal said that it’s too early to judge if such a need exists. Also, there is no decision yet on raising FY19 capital infusion target, he informed.
ARC or AMC will help the banks to improve their balance sheets, he also said. Bank of Baroda (BoB) chief Jayakumar will strategise public sector banks taking over good loans of banks under prompt corrective action (PCA), he added.
Piyush Goyal today met heads of public sectors banks (PSBs) based out of western and southern regions today to resolve various issues concerning them. The meeting was organised by State Bank of India (SBI) and was chaired by Goyal in Mumbai. In all, 15 CEO of PSBs from the two regions participated in the meeting to discuss the way forward for the Indian Banking system. This is the first meeting with the heads of the PSBs after their annual financial result for 2017-18. Most of the public sector banks posted loss in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
Piyush Goyal also said that the government is totally committed towards strengthening the standards of Indian banking. There is a need to ensure healthy credit flow with borrowers owning good accounts, he said. In addition, banks should also began working together to address issues of MSMEs.
The government of India supports each and every bank and believes these banks have very important role to play for the country, he also said.