PSBS have at least ₹8 lakh cr of loans under moratorium
FIVE LENDERS ARE STATE BANK OF INDIA (SBI), BANK OF BARODA, PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK (PNB), BANK OF INDIA AND CANARA BANK
MUMBAI: India’s five largest staterun banks collectively have at least ₹7.9 lakh crore of loans under moratorium, including loans that were stressed even before the coronavirus outbreak, regulatory filings showed. That accounts for about 20% of their local advances.
The five lenders are State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India and Canara Bank.
While the moratorium amount for SBI at ₹5.63 lakh crore is the aggregate loans where repayments have been deferred, the other four PSU banks refer only to loans that were already stressed and have now been given the moratorium.
These stressed loans are the ones where repayments are overdue even by a day. Data for the other four banks does not include loans that were regular with repayment so far, but have voluntarily sought moratorium after the lockdown.
To be sure, in the absence of any standard disclosure format for moratorium loans, banks have used varying metrics. Even though the final tally could be much higher, it provides an early indication of Covid-19’s impact on repayment capabilities.
Analysts said there should be a standard disclosure format, but lenders are perhaps waiting for the moratorium to end for more clarity on the data.
“I think by September, banks will have a clearer picture of what the final moratorium numbers are, as the process is ongoing at the moment. Different banks are using different methods to calculate the moratorium amount and there is a lack of coherence at the moment,” said Asutosh Mishra, head of research, institutional equity, Ashika Stock Broking.
While ₹7.9 lakh crore is about 20% of the domestic loan book of these banks, the actual extent of the moratorium will be greater because except SBI, other banks have given data only on the stressed loans that have gone into moratorium, but not the total amount under moratorium. Some have provided data on what percentage of their loanbook was under moratorium, while others have given the percentage of borrowers who used the benefit.