SBI biggest beneficiary of Bhushan Steel sale to Tatas; lender's bottomline to go up by as much Rs 1,300 crore

New Delhi: Country’s largest lender SBI will be the biggest beneficiary of resolution of debt-ridden Bhushan Steel as its bottomline will go up by as much Rs 1,300 crore. The other banks which will get a major share of the sales proceeds include Punjab National Bank (Rs 700 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 600 crore) and Bank of India (Rs 500 crore). Syndicate Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce will get Rs 400 crore each, top finance ministry official said. In all, the consortium of banks led by SBI would get around Rs 7,500 crore. Besides, the lenders will also get equity in the steel company. As a result of the debt resolution, the non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans of SBI will come down by as much as Rs 11,000 crore. [caption id=“attachment_4393467” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] PNB and Canara Bank will see NPA reduction of Rs 3,800 crore and Rs 2,300 crore respectively when the first quarter numbers are announced, the official said. Together these lenders will shed NPA burden to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore out of Rs 1.75 lakh crore of the 12 large NPA cases which are under the resolution of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. These cases were referred by RBI in June last year. In addition, sources said, these banks would get an opportunity to reap future dividends as they would be getting around six crore equity shares in the steel company. Last week, Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, successfully completed the acquisition of controlling stake of 72.65 percent in Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) for a consideration of Rs 3,600 crore. Settlement of the amounts equivalent to Rs 35,200 crore towards financial creditors of BSL was initiated as per the terms of the resolution plan and corresponding transaction documents. Tata Steel said Rs 1,200 crore will be paid to operational creditors of BSL over a period of 12 months as per their admitted claims and as per the terms of the approved resolution plan. Finance minister Piyush Goyal had said the purchase of debt-ridden Bhushan Steel by a Tata Group company under the IBC proceedings was a “historic breakthrough” in resolving legacy issues of banks. Goyal had said the NPA resolution process is being done through a fair and transparent IBC. The government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has been systematically cleaning the financial and economic mess left behind by the Congress, he had said.