Govt mulls additional Rs 30,000 cr capital infusion in PSBs; several banks' NPA rises during two quarters

New Delhi: The government is considering additional capital infusion of up to Rs 30,000 crore in public sector banks (PSBs) as they have been unable to raise required funds from the markets, sources said. As part of the capital infusion plan announced by the Finance Ministry in October 2017, the government envisaged that the PSBs would raise Rs 58,000 crore from the stock markets by March 2019 to meet Basel III norms. However, due to subdued market conditions, banks have been unable to raise enough funds from the markets so far. [caption id=“attachment_4060307” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] In addition, non-performing assets (NPAs) of many banks have seen a spurt in the first two quarters of this fiscal, putting stress on their bottomlines. However, the banks have got a breather in respect of Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB), a part of Basel III norms. The RBI, at its last board meeting, deferred the requirement to meet the CCB target by one year, leaving about Rs 37,000 crore in the hands of banks. Despite this relaxation, PSBs need more funds to meet global capital norms called Basel III as the RBI has retained the capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) at 9 percent, sources said, adding, the shortfall could be around Rs 30,000 crore. However, sources said the matter is being considered by the government and the final decision is expected in the next few weeks. The government had decided to take a massive step to capitalise PSBs in a front-loaded manner, with a view to support credit growth. This entailed mobilisation of capital to the tune of about Rs 2,11,000 crore over the next two years — through budgetary provisions of Rs 18,139 crore, recapitalisation bonds of Rs 1,35,000 crore, and the balance through raising of capital by banks from the market while diluting government equity estimated at Rs 58,000 crore. As per this plan, the remaining capital infusion is about Rs 42,000 crore. Earlier this year, the government pumped in Rs 11,336 crore into five PSBs — Punjab National Bank (PNB), Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank — to improve their financial health. PNB, hit by the Nirav Modi scam, got the highest amount of Rs 2,816 crore, while Allahabad Bank received Rs 1,790 crore. Andhra Bank got capital support of Rs 2,019 crore, Indian Overseas Bank Rs 2,157 crore and Corporation Bank Rs 2,555 crore. Subsequently, PNB board approved capital infusion of Rs 5,431 crore to meet the capital requirement.