Chairman, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Bombay Mercantile Bank recovered bad loans worth over Rs 6 crore in 2020-21 and expects better realisation going forward, a senior official has said. Recovery of NPAs (non-performing assets) has been a major thrust area for the bank. The bank has taken specific steps for reduction of NPAs by formulating policy for recovery of NPA through personal follow-ups and other legal measures, Zeeshan Mehdi, Chairman, Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank, said in his address at the annual general meeting (AGM).

“These efforts have resulted in the bank posting a recovery of Rs 6.10 crore, in NPA accounts. Due to the pendency of cases in various courts whose functioning was hampered because of the pandemic, resulting in delays in final verdicts, the recoveries in many NPA accounts could not be achieved as targeted,” he added.

Mehdi said the bank expects a healthy recovery of NPAs during the ensuing year.

The bank’s gross bad loans stood at 6.61 per cent and the net NPAs were 5.11 per cent during FY21.

The NPA is slightly higher due to the pandemic, however, it is still within the permissible limit of the regulators, he added.

The CRAR (capital to risk-weighted assets ratio) stood at 17.26 per cent against 16.88 per cent in the preceding fiscal.

BMC Bank registered a net profit of Rs 3.78 crore in FY21. Mehdi said the bank posted a second consecutive year of profit, however, the target was much higher.

The total business of the bank during 2020-21 stood at Rs 3,467.55 crore, of which deposits were Rs 2,363.38 crore and advances Rs 1,104.17 crore.

“During the year, the bank has been allotted its own IFSC code by the RBI, with all branches using exclusive IFSC codes. The bank is now a direct member of IFTAS and has been given permission to use INFINET connectivity to provide a variety of services to our customers and our treasury department,” the chairman said.

These services are RTGS, NEFT, SGL account with RBI, NDS-OM, NDS-Call, SWAP, LAF and MSF. Earlier, the bank did not have such facilities, he added.

The implementation of these digital initiatives would result in the enhancement of the customer experience, he said.

“The bank is moving ahead digitally at a fast pace…we are launching Mobile-App to our valued customers to meet the emerging business challenges and be at par with the best in the industry,” Mehdi added. PTI KPM BAL BAL