Banks report reduction in bad loans; seek steps to address stress in NBFCs: FICCI-IBA survey

New Delhi: More than half of the bankers have reported a reduction in bad loans, and sought capital infusion in public sector lenders as well as steps to address stress in the NBFC segment, a survey by industry body FICCI said on Tuesday. The participating banks in the survey, conducted during January to June 2019, also suggested that the government should simplify the GST framework and lower GST rates to enhance tax compliance. While releasing the ninth round of the FICCI-IBA survey, the chamber said some of the key sectors that are expected to see higher credit in the next six months as identified by participating bankers are infrastructure, metals, real estate, automobile and auto components, pharmaceuticals and food processing. A total of 23 banks, including public sector, private sector, foreign and small finance banks, representing over 67 percent of the banking industry, participated in the survey. “For the financial sector, participating bankers were of the opinion that there should be capital infusion in public sector banks (PSBs) and measures should be taken to address the stress in the NBFC sector,” the survey said. [caption id=“attachment_6013191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] These responses, FICCI said, were received just before the release of the Union Budget 2019-20 and in-fact, the Budget did lay a special emphasis on the banking and financial sector, including capital infusion of Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks. There was also a proposal to provide one time six months’ partial credit guarantee to PSBs for first loss of up to 10 percent for the purchase of high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs. “These measures should help in addressing the liquidity constraint and ensure greater lending to support growth,” FICCI added. As per the survey, the proportion of respondent banks citing a reduction in NPAs stood at 52 percent as against 43 percent in the previous round. Among the PSBs, about 55 percent of them cited a reduction in non-performing asset (NPA) levels. “Amongst the respondents stating infrastructure as high NPA sector, about 63 percent have reported a decline in NPA in this sector during the last six months,” the survey said. Likewise, 57 percent of respondents, citing engineering goods as high NPA segment, have mentioned a reduction in NPA levels. About 92 percent of those considering metals/iron and steel as high NPA space have indicated a decline in NPAs over the last six months. Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had informed Parliament that total bad loans of commercial banks declined by Rs 1.02 lakh crore to Rs 9.34 lakh crore in the 2018-19 fiscal on the back of steps taken by the government. FICCI survey also found that 48 percent of respondent banks reported tightening of credit standards for large enterprises as against 64 percent in the last round, indicating improvement in funding. Further, credit standards have remained the same for 48 percent of the respondents as against 36 percent in the last round. According to the survey, infrastructure, textiles, chemicals cement, food processing, real estate, automobile and auto components, metals, rubber/ plastics products and pharmaceuticals are witnessing a rise in long term credit. On top priorities for the government, the majority of respondent banks believed that addressing agricultural distress should be one of the top priorities. They emphasised on undertaking reforms in the agriculture sector that aim at enhancing long-term productivity gains, FICCI said. Labour law reforms, public investment in infrastructure and affordable housing, and lowering of GST rates to enhance tax compliance should be other priorities of the government, according to the banks. The survey further said the majority of the banks were of the view that establishment of development finance institution (DFI) will help in boosting the flow of credit to the infrastructure sector and addressing the asset-liability problem faced by banks. “Bankers were also of the view that source of funds will be an important factor in the success of such DFIs,” it said. Participating banks also suggested raising long-term finance from infra-bonds, equity, and budgetary allocation from the government.