The country's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has identified various assets, including its housing finance arm, for sale and hopes to realise Rs 8,600 crore from these non-core assets during the current fiscal.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rs-14000-crore-nirav-modi-scam-bygone-says-pnb-md-expecting-profitable-year-168944">Also Read:&nbsp;Rs 14,000 crore Nirav Modi scam a bygone, bank on </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rs-14000-crore-nirav-modi-scam-bygone-says-pnb-md-expecting-profitable-year-168944">path</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rs-14000-crore-nirav-modi-scam-bygone-says-pnb-md-expecting-profitable-year-168944"> to recovery, says PNB chief</a>

The bank has already sold some of the fixed assets and has realised Rs 400 crore from these assets.

"We plan to sale about Rs 8,600 crore of non-core assets in the current financial year. We are on track," PNB Managing Director Sunil Mehta said.

He further said that the bank has already appointed the merchant bankers for sale of its asset in PNB Housing Finance Company.

"Bidding has already been invited. Besides, the bank also wants to dilute its 4 per cent stake in life insurance joint venture. Few of the fixed assets we have already sold out. Hopefully, we will able to meet the target," he said.

Asked if&nbsp;the bank will sell its stake in the current market situation, Mehta said the market is expected to stabilise by the time of bidding and regulatory process are complete.

He further said that there are a lot of important long-term investors who have shown interest in the housing finance company.

"They are going to acquire the entire stake of the company. Anybody who wants to acquire the entire stake of the company will be looking at the long term profitability and the fundamentals of the company are still very strong," he said.

He expressed hope that the bank will be able to get a good realisation from the stake sale.

The country's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has identified various assets, including its housing finance arm, for sale and hopes to realise Rs 8,600 crore from these non-core assets during the current fiscal.

The country's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has identified various assets, including its housing finance arm, for sale and hopes to realise Rs 8,600 crore from these non-core assets during the current fiscal. Also Read: Rs 14,000 crore Nirav Modi scam a bygone, bank on path to recovery, says PNB chief The bank has already sold some of the fixed assets and has realised Rs 400 crore from these assets. "We plan to sale about Rs 8,600 crore of non-core assets in the current financial year. We are on track," PNB Managing Director Sunil Mehta said. He further said that the bank has already appointed the merchant bankers for sale of its asset in PNB Housing Finance Company. "Bidding has already been invited. Besides, the bank also wants to dilute its 4 per cent stake in life insurance joint venture. Few of the fixed assets we have already sold out. Hopefully, we will able to meet the target," he said. Asked if the bank will sell its stake in the current market situation, Mehta said the market is expected to stabilise by the time of bidding and regulatory process are complete. He further said that there are a lot of important long-term investors who have shown interest in the housing finance company. "They are going to acquire the entire stake of the company. Anybody who wants to acquire the entire stake of the company will be looking at the long term profitability and the fundamentals of the company are still very strong," he said. He expressed hope that the bank will be able to get a good realisation from the stake sale.

PNB eyes 'non-core' asset sale worth Rs 8,600 crore

Non performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans in the banking sector are set to shoot up by at least Rs 8,000 crore as advances to the scam-hit Gitanjali Gems group have turned bad during the quarter ended March 31.

Banks will have to make provisioning of Rs 8,000 crore for Gitanjali alone as there have been no servicing of the working capital loan during the fourth quarter of last fiscal, sources said.

Gitanjali, among others, is the major account which has turned bad in the fourth quarter of 2017-18.

Gross NPAs of all the banks in the country amounted to Rs 8,40,958 crore in December, led by industry loans followed by services and agriculture sectors, as per the government estimates.

Gitanjali is promoted by Mehul Choksi, uncle of billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi, who defrauded Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 13,000 crore by getting fake Letters of Undertaking/Credit (LoU/LoCs) issued from one of the bank's branches in Mumbai.

A special CBI court in Mumbai has issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Modi as well as Choksi.

A consortium of 21 banks led by Allahabad Bank had first extended a working capital loan to it in 2010-11. In 2014, ICICI Bank became the lead banker as it had highest exposure of about Rs 900 crore and in line with the revised guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India.

Till December 2017, the loans to Gitanjali Gems were standard and regular debt servicing was being done. There is no servicing of debt in the last quarter ended March 31, so it has to be declared NPA by all banks, said a senior bank official of the consortium.

In 2015, the consortium had restructured working capital loans given to Gitanjali under the joint lenders' forum (JLF) mechanism.

The Gitanjali exposure was classified as a special mention account-2 (SMA-2) in 2014 after the company failed to fulfil its payment obligations for more than 60 days, triggering the formation of a JLF.

As a result, the company announced the consolidation of the business at the group level to improve cash flows and reduce costs in various activities such as sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, exporting and retailing.

It proposed the merger of three of its subsidiaries Asmi Jewellery India and Spectrum Jewellery with Nakshatra Brands and also the merger of Gitanjali Jewellery Retail and Gitanjali Lifestyle with GILI India.

Different investigating agencies, including CBI, I-T and Enforcement Directorate, are probing the fraud, which came to light in January, dubbed as the biggest banking scam in the country.

PNB had issued as many as 1,590 LoUs to Modi, Choksi and their associates.

The total number of LoUs issued to the companies of Modi, his relatives and the Nirav Modi Group are 1,213, while those to Choksi, his relatives and the Gitanjali Group are 377.

Banks will have to make provisioning of Rs 8,000 crore for Gitanjali alone as there has been no servicing of the working capital loan during the fourth quarter of last fiscal, sources said

Non performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans in the banking sector are set to shoot up by at least Rs 8,000 crore as advances to the scam-hit Gitanjali Gems group have turned bad during the quarter ended March 31. Banks will have to make provisioning of Rs 8,000 crore for Gitanjali alone as there have been no servicing of the working capital loan during the fourth quarter of last fiscal, sources said. Gitanjali, among others, is the major account which has turned bad in the fourth quarter of 2017-18. Gross NPAs of all the banks in the country amounted to Rs 8,40,958 crore in December, led by industry loans followed by services and agriculture sectors, as per the government estimates. Gitanjali is promoted by Mehul Choksi, uncle of billionaire diamantaire Nirav Modi, who defrauded Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs 13,000 crore by getting fake Letters of Undertaking/Credit (LoU/LoCs) issued from one of the bank's branches in Mumbai. A special CBI court in Mumbai has issued non-bailable warrants (NBWs) against Modi as well as Choksi. A consortium of 21 banks led by Allahabad Bank had first extended a working capital loan to it in 2010-11. In 2014, ICICI Bank became the lead banker as it had highest exposure of about Rs 900 crore and in line with the revised guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India. Till December 2017, the loans to Gitanjali Gems were standard and regular debt servicing was being done. There is no servicing of debt in the last quarter ended March 31, so it has to be declared NPA by all banks, said a senior bank official of the consortium. In 2015, the consortium had restructured working capital loans given to Gitanjali under the joint lenders' forum (JLF) mechanism. The Gitanjali exposure was classified as a special mention account-2 (SMA-2) in 2014 after the company failed to fulfil its payment obligations for more than 60 days, triggering the formation of a JLF. As a result, the company announced the consolidation of the business at the group level to improve cash flows and reduce costs in various activities such as sourcing, manufacturing, distribution, exporting and retailing. It proposed the merger of three of its subsidiaries Asmi Jewellery India and Spectrum Jewellery with Nakshatra Brands and also the merger of Gitanjali Jewellery Retail and Gitanjali Lifestyle with GILI India. Different investigating agencies, including CBI, I-T and Enforcement Directorate, are probing the fraud, which came to light in January, dubbed as the biggest banking scam in the country. PNB had issued as many as 1,590 LoUs to Modi, Choksi and their associates. The total number of LoUs issued to the companies of Modi, his relatives and the Nirav Modi Group are 1,213, while those to Choksi, his relatives and the Gitanjali Group are 377.

Bank 'bad loans' in India to rise by at least Rs 8,000 crore in Q4

Following&nbsp;Uttar Pradesh and Punjab&#39;s example, the&nbsp;Karnataka Congress government today announced crop&nbsp;loan waiver of up to Rs 50,000 per farmer.

The loan waiver will cost the state exchequer Rs 8,165 crore, PTI reported.&nbsp; 
 
The move will help about 22,27,506 farmers who had&nbsp;taken&nbsp;loans of about Rs 10,736 crore from cooperative banks in the state.

&quot;Farmers are in distress. They have been demanding loan waiver. We have to respond to farmers, even though it will have an impact on state&#39;s finances,&quot; Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah said. 
 
He added that the Centre will now have to come to the rescue of farmers by waiving the loan obtained by them from nationalised and grameen banks.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah said the crop loan obtained by farmers from cooperative banks is just 20 per cent, the rest is from grameen, nationalised and others banks that come under the central government.

BJP&#39;s Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government was the first to <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/at-first-cabinet-meet-up-cm-adityanath-waives-rs-36359-crore-in-farmer-loans-14176">waive off farmer loans</a>&nbsp;worth&nbsp;Rs 30,729 crores in April.&nbsp;

Punjab&#39;s Congress chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had last week <a href="http://www.wionews.com/preview/article/17024">announced</a> total waiver of entire crop loans up to Rs. 2 lakh for small and marginal farmers up to five&nbsp;acres, and a flat Rs. 2 lakh relief for all other marginal farmers, irrespective of their loan amount.

BJP&#39;s Maharashtra government is also planning to announce a loan waiver before October 31, which is expected to benefit about 1.07 crore farmers with less than five acres of land.&nbsp;

Earlier in June, the Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel had said that unless the budgets of the state governments allow the fiscal space to waive off loans, it would be a risky path to tread on.

&ldquo;Past episodes in our country had shown that when there are significant fiscal slippages they do permeate to inflation sooner or later. So, it is a path that we need to tread very carefully and before it gets out of hand,&rdquo; he said.

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The waiver will cost Rs 8,165 crore to the Karnataka state?exchequer and?will help about 22,27,506 farmers

Following Uttar Pradesh and Punjab's example, the Karnataka Congress government today announced crop loan waiver of up to Rs 50,000 per farmer. The loan waiver will cost the state exchequer Rs 8,165 crore, PTI reported. The move will help about 22,27,506 farmers who had taken loans of about Rs 10,736 crore from cooperative banks in the state. "Farmers are in distress. They have been demanding loan waiver. We have to respond to farmers, even though it will have an impact on state's finances," Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah said. He added that the Centre will now have to come to the rescue of farmers by waiving the loan obtained by them from nationalised and grameen banks. Chief minister Siddaramaiah said the crop loan obtained by farmers from cooperative banks is just 20 per cent, the rest is from grameen, nationalised and others banks that come under the central government. BJP's Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government was the first to waive off farmer loans worth Rs 30,729 crores in April. Punjab's Congress chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had last week announced total waiver of entire crop loans up to Rs. 2 lakh for small and marginal farmers up to five acres, and a flat Rs. 2 lakh relief for all other marginal farmers, irrespective of their loan amount. BJP's Maharashtra government is also planning to announce a loan waiver before October 31, which is expected to benefit about 1.07 crore farmers with less than five acres of land. Earlier in June, the Reserve Bank of India governor Urjit Patel had said that unless the budgets of the state governments allow the fiscal space to waive off loans, it would be a risky path to tread on. “Past episodes in our country had shown that when there are significant fiscal slippages they do permeate to inflation sooner or later. So, it is a path that we need to tread very carefully and before it gets out of hand,” he said.

After Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Congress-led Karnataka govt waives farm loan up to Rs 8,165 crore

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PNB eyes 'non-core' asset sale worth Rs 8,600 crore

Bank 'bad loans' in India to rise by at least Rs 8,000 crore in Q4

After Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, Congress-led Karnataka govt waives farm loan up to Rs 8,165 crore