Finance Minister, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday informed Parliament that the Centre has issued no specific directions to banks asking them not to give loans to “sensitive customers” like police personnel.

Sitharaman, during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, said there is no “official stated policy” directing banks not to give loans to certain categories of customers. “Banks make assessments based on KYC and other ratings like civil ratings. I don”t think any specific instructions are given to banks — please be careful not to lend to these people,” she said in the Upper House while responding to a supplementary queries.

However, banks do exercise a certain level of discretion based on their available KYC (know your customer), she added. Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad said banks do have “problems” in lending to police and politicians. Banks see track record before lending to these customers, he added.

Responding to another question on banks not lending to politically exposed persons (PEPs), the Union Finance Minister said, “…this is more from the point of view of large sums of money are transferred from one account to another complying with the global requirement where the financial action on terror funding happens.” So according to them, the minister said every account will have to be kept on a tab where huge money is transferred to a sensitive bank account, she added.



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Ten steps for overhaul of ARCs as competition for bad bank arrives, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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In a bid to streamline the functioning of asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), a Reserve Bank committee has come out with a host of suggestions including the creation of an online platform for the sale of stressed assets and allowing ARCs to act as resolution applicants during the IBC process.

Amortise loss

To incentivise lenders to sell their financial assets to ARCs at an early stage of stress, the RBI panel has recommended a dispensation to lenders, on an ongoing basis, to amortise the loss on sale, if any, over a period of two years. To optimise upside value realisation by lenders, it recommends a higher threshold of investment in security receipts (SRs) by lenders, below which provisioning on SRs held by them may be done on the basis of Net Asset Value (NAV) declared by the ARC instead of IRACP norms.

Online platform

An online platform may be created for sale of stressed assets and infrastructure created by the Secondary Loan Market Association (SLMA) may be utilised for this purpose. For all accounts above Rs 500 crore, two bank-approved external valuers should carry out a valuation to determine the liquidation value and fair market value and for accounts between Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore, one valuer may be engaged. Also, the final approval of the reserve price should be given by a high-level committee that has the power to approve the corresponding write-off of the loan.

Acquiring financial assets

In the interest of debt aggregation, the scope of Section 5 of the SARFAESI Act, and other related provisions, may be expanded to allow ARCs to acquire ‘financial assets’ as defined in the Act, for the purpose of reconstruction, not only from banks and ‘financial institutions’ but also from such entities as may be notified by RBI. RBI may consider permitting ARCs to acquire financial assets from all regulated entities, including AIFs, FPIs, AMCs making investment on behalf of MFs and all NBFCs (including HFCs) irrespective of asset size and from retail investors. ARCs should be allowed to sponsor SEBI registered AIFs with the objective of using these entities as an additional vehicle for facilitating restructuring/ recovery of the debt acquired by them.

Binding on lenders

If 66% of lenders (by value) decide to accept an offer by an ARC, the same may be binding on the remaining lenders and it must be implemented within 60 days of approval by majority lenders (66%). 100% provisioning on the loan outstanding should be mandated if a lender fails to comply with this requirement. Given that the debt aggregation is typically a time-consuming process, the planning period is elongated to one year from the existing six months. In cases where ARCs have acquired 66% of debt of a borrower, the Act should provide for two years of moratorium on proceedings against the borrower by other authorities. The Act should also provide that Government dues including revenues, taxes, cesses and rates due to the Central and state governments or local authority will be deferred in such cases.

Equity sale

For better value realisation for originators and enhancing the effectiveness of ARCs in recovery, even the equity pertaining to a borrower company may be allowed to be sold by lenders to ARCs which have acquired the borrower’s debt. The Committee recommends that ARCs may be allowed to participate in the IBC process as a Resolution Applicant either through a SR trust or through the AIF sponsored by them.

Allowing HNIs to buy SRs

For giving impetus to listing and trading of SRs, the list of eligible qualified buyers may be further expanded to include HNIs with minimum investment of Rs 1 crore, corporates (Net Worth-Rs 10 crore & above), all NBFCs/ HFCs, trusts, family offices, pension funds and distressed asset funds with the condition that (a) defaulting promoters should not be gaining access to secured assets through SRs and (b) corporates cannot invest in SRs issued by ARCs which are related parties as per SEBI definition.

Minimum SR investment

The interest of investors and investing lenders should be weighed against the need for distribution of risk among the willing investors. Therefore, it recommends that for all transactions, per SR class/ scheme, the minimum investment in SRs by an ARC should be 15% of the lenders’ investment in SRs or 2.5% of the total SRs issued, whichever is higher.

Credit rating agencies

Recognising the critical role of Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs) in the valuation of SRs and, therefore, the need for continuity in engagement of CRAs, the Committee recommends that ARCs must retain a CRA for at least three years. In case of change of a CRA, both parties must disclose the reason for such change.

Tax pass through

In the matter related to taxation of income generated from investment in SRs issued by ARCs, the possibility of a ‘pass-through’ regime for AIF investors may be looked into by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The CBDT may consider clarifying on the tax rate applicable to FPIs.



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NARCL may get first bad loans tranche of Rs 90,000 crore by January, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), or bad bank, is likely to get the first tranche of bad assets worth about Rs 90,000 crore by January 2022, according to a report. In the first phase, fully-provisioned toxic assets will be transferred.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget for 2021-22 had announced that an asset reconstruction company or a bad bank would be set up to consolidate and take over existing stressed assets of lenders and undertake their resolution. A bad bank refers to a financial institution that takes over bad assets of lenders and undertakes resolution.

Last month, the Cabinet had approved a proposal to offer sovereign guarantee on the security receipts (SRs) issued by the NARCL, It is estimated to cost the govenrment Rs 30,600 crore over five years.

Recovery hopes

The bad bank hopes to recover between Rs 50,000 crore and Rs 64,000 crore through the resolution of bad loans amounting to Rs 2 lakh crore.

NARCL may get first bad loans tranche of Rs 90,000 crore by January

The lowest recovery is seen at 25 per cent or Rs 50,000 crore, while the highest recovery rate is pegged at 32 per cent, or Rs 64,000 crore. The most likely recovery has been pegged at 28 per cent or Rs 56,000 crore.

The NARCL will buy the assets around Rs 36,000 crore or, about 18 per cent of the book value of Rs 2 lakh crore assets. About 15 per cent of Rs 36,000 crore would be paid by NARCL to banks in cash and the remaining 85 per cent via security receipts guaranteed by the Centre.

Close to liquidation

Though banks have made 100% provision for these assets, Rajkiran Rai, MD & CEO of Union Bank of India, does not expect more than 20-25 per cent recovery from these legacy accounts, he told a television channel.

The State Bank of India has identified NPAs with Rs 17,000-18,000 crore outstanding to be transferred to the NARCL, while Punjab National Bank has identified Rs 8,000 crore worth of NPAs, Union Bank of India Rs 7,800 crore of NPAs to be transferred to the National ARC. The Bank of India has identified about Rs 5,500 crores of assets for transfer while Indian Bank about Rs 1,900 crore.

Assets

NARCL may get first bad loans tranche of Rs 90,000 crore by January

Banks have identified Rs 82,496 crores worth of bad loans that could be transferred to the NARCL, which has names like Videocon’s VOVL (Rs 22,532 crores total exposure), Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (Rs 8,934 crore), Amtek Auto (Rs 9,014 crore), Jaypee Infratech (Rs 7,950 crore, Castex Technologies (Rs 6,337 crore), GTL Ltd (Rs 4,866 crore), Visa Steel (Rs 3,394 crore), Wind World India Ltd (Rs 3,161 crore), Lavasa Corporation (Rs 1,424 crore), Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd (Rs 1,353 crores).

Several assets such as Videocon have seen realisable value close to liquidation value in NCLT proceedings. Many big-ticket resolutions at IBC have seen haircuts over 90%. With most of the NPAs proposed to be transferred to the bad bank being old legacy NPAs, there has been an erosion in value, making them more likely to head to liquidation.

Lavasa Corporation has got bids worth Rs 700 crore for loan claims of over Rs 8,000 crore at NCLT.



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National Asset Reconstruction Company: First set of NPA transfer to bad bank likely by January

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Last month, the Cabinet approved a proposal to offer sovereign guarantee on the security receipts (SRs) issued by the NARCL, which is estimated to cost the exchequer Rs 30,600 crore over five years. In the first phase, fully-provisioned toxic assets will be transferred.

The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), or the so-called bad bank, is expected to witness the transfer of the first batch of toxic assets worth about Rs 90,000 crore by January 2022, banking sources told FE.

Earlier this month, the NARCL got a licence from the central bank to start operations. “It’s (NARCL) in the process of forming its board. Large stressed assets have already been identified, so their transfer is unlikely to be delayed beyond late December or early January,” a top banker familiar with the development told FE. The asset transfer will be a decisive step towards the resolution of large stressed assets worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the banking system.

Last month, the Cabinet approved a proposal to offer sovereign guarantee on the security receipts (SRs) issued by the NARCL, which is estimated to cost the exchequer Rs 30,600 crore over five years. In the first phase, fully-provisioned toxic assets will be transferred.

The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), which is spearheading the initiative to set up the bad bank, has put in place a preliminary board for the NARCL. Padmakumar M Nair, a chief general manager in the stressed assets resolution group of State Bank of India, has been appointed the managing director of NARCL. IBA chief executive Sunil Mehta, SBI deputy managing director SS Nair and Canara Bank chief general manager Ajit Krishnan Nair have also been inducted to the NARCL board so far. More directors are expected to be appointed soon.

The plan to set up NARCL comes at an opportune time. Gross NPA ratio of banks may surge to 9.8% by March 2022, under a baseline scenario, from 7.48% in March 2021, driven partly by the Covid crisis, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Stability report in July.

Although the Centre is giving guarantee on the SRs, it has not contributed to the equity of the Rs 6,000-crore NARCL. In fact, public-sector banks (PSBs) will hold 51% in it and private players will own the rest. Similarly, the PSBs and public financial institutions will have a 49% stake in the India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL), which is being set up as an asset management company to work out the non-performing assets (NPAs) under the overarching NARCL structure, and the rest will be held by private lenders.

The NARCL will acquire the assets at net book value by offering 15% of it upfront (in cash), and the rest (85%) in SRs. Once the bad loan is resolved, realisation for the relevant bank would be in sync with its SR interest in that asset.

Typically, the NARCL will acquire assets by making an offer to the lead bank. Once its offer is accepted, the IDRCL will then manage the bad loans, add value to them and finally sell them off.

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Five foreign investors shortlisted for majority stake in Yes Bank-backed ARC, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Five foreign investors have made presentations to the Yes Bank management to form a new joint venture asset reconstruction company (ARC) which will house the lender’s non performing assets (NPAs), three people familiar with the development said.

The investors which have made presentations include Los Angeles based $149 billion Ares-SSG Capital, $15 billion alternative investment firm Varde Partners, US based $55 billion Ceberus Capital and distressed asset giants $156 billion Oaktree Capital and private equity company JC Flowers, three people familiar with the move said. Individual investors and Yes Bank could not be immediately reached.

Yes Bank will likely hold a minority share in the proposed ARC in line with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directions. The selected investor is likely to hold a majority as much as 80% to 85% in the new venture, one of the persons said. EY is helping Yes Bank with the process.

“The model is more of a NARC type. Banks are not encouraged to hold a major share in any ARC. That’s why they are selling it,” said a second senior executive involved in the matter.

He was referring to the government backed National Asset Reconstruction Co (NARC) which has been formed to resolve legacy bad loans from the banking sector.

“Investors have not yet been officially informed about the short listed firms so the process will take some more before the partner is selected,” said a third person familiar with the matter.



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Indian Bank picks up 13.2% stake in NARCL, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Indian Bank on Friday said it has picked up 13.27 per cent stake in the proposed bad bank National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL). The lender has subscribed to 1,98,00,000 equity shares of NARCL for cash consideration of Rs 19.80 crore, it said in a regulatory filing.

The investment of equity stake of 13.27 per cent would be reduced to 9.90 per cent by December 31, 2021, Indian Bank added.

Three state-owned lenders — SBI, Union Bank of India and PNB — had picked up over 12 per cent stake each in NARCL on Thursday.

NARCL, which is yet to become operational, will take over the bad assets of banks in its own account for speedy resolution of sour loans.

Last month, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to provide government guarantee worth Rs 30,600 crore to security receipts issued by NARCL.

NARCL will pay up to 15 per cent of the agreed value for the bad loans in cash and the remaining 85 per cent would be government-guaranteed security receipts.

It will be 51 per cent owned by PSBs and the remaining by private sector lenders. State-owned Canara Bank has expressed its intent to be the lead sponsor of NARCL with a 12 per cent stake. PTI DP ABM ABM



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SBI, Union Bank, PNB pick up stake in NARCL, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Three state-owned lenders — SBI, Union Bank of India and PNB — picked up over 12 per cent stake each in the proposed bad bank NARCL on Thursday, and said their holdings will be brought down by December. While State Bank of India (SBI) and Union Bank of India picked up 13.27 per cent stake each, representing a cumulative 3.88 crore shares in the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), PNB subscribed to 12.06 per cent stake (1,80,00,000 shares).

In a regulatory filing on the subscription to 1,98,00,000 shares of NARCL (pending execution of the investment agreement), the country’s largest lender SBI said the “investment of equity stake of 13.27 per cent by State Bank of India to be reduced to 9.90 per cent by 31st December 2021”.

Union Bank of India, in its regulatory filing, said it has subscribed to 1,98,00,000 shares of NARCL (pending execution of investment agreement).

The lender said it will bring down its stake of 13.27 per cent to 9.90 per cent by December 2021 on subscription by other public sector banks (PSBs)/ financial institutions.

“Punjab National Bank has subscribed to 1,80,00,000 shares of National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (pending execution of investment agreement),” the bank said in a separate filing.

PNB said it will bring down its stake from 12.06 per cent to 9 per cent by December 31, 2021.

NARCL, which is yet to become operational, will take over the bad assets of banks in its own account for speedy resolution of sour loans.

All the three lenders have subscribed to the equity in NARCL at Rs 10 per share. The completion of the acquisition by them is expected by March 2022.

Earlier this month, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to provide government guarantee worth Rs 31,000 crore to security receipts issued by the NARCL.

Incorporated on July 7, 2021, NARCL will pay up to 15 per cent of the agreed value for the bad loans in cash and the remaining 85 per cent would be government-guaranteed security receipts.

It will be 51 per cent owned by PSBs and the remaining by private sector lenders. State-owned Canara Bank has expressed its intent to be the lead sponsor of NARCL with a 12 per cent stake. PTI KPM ABM ABM



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NARCL may not hit this year’s fiscal outgo, says DBS Research, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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India’s bad bank is unlikely to impact this year’s fiscal outgo, according to a report by DBS Research.

The transfer of assets from banks to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) will be in the form of ‘contingent liability’, which will be invoked when there is a shortfall upon resolution or liquidation.

Also read: Banks may sell Rs 1 lakh crore of fraud-hit loans to NARCL, ARCs

The transfer is likely to free up capital for banks, and price discovery is likely to be addressed by bad assets being bought at net book value, the report said

However, gross Non Performing Assets are likely to correct to the scale, while net NPAs will be a little changed.

Reform fine tuning, such as the announcement of the bad bank, strong external buffers, domestic equity outperformance and improving fiscal math have been positive for India’s economic narrative.

Also read: What are NARCL and IDRCL? How do they work and what is the plan?

India’s financial markets, including rupee, are no longer a part of the fragile five pack of economies, even as the US Federal Reserve prepares to taper its purchases of securities and bonds.

During the taper tantrum episode in 2013, India was part of the “Fragile Five,” representing a group of emerging market economies which were running weak external accounts and had poor cover for the external funding.

Compared with 2013, the rupee will be more resilient when the US Fed tapers asset purchases this time. The brokerage expects the Indian Rupee to hold its COVID-19 range of Rs 72-77 per US dollar into 2022.

India’s fiscal performance has been surprising this year, with the deficit reaching only 21.3% in April-July of the budgeted estimate, lower than 103% in April-July 2020, DBS Research said.

Revenues are outpacing expenditure, with net tax revenues at 34% in April-July, against 12.4% a year ago, and non-tax revenues at 58%, against 6.4% last year.

The onset of the third COVID-19 wave is likely to be less fatal as the economy seems to be having a better shock absorption capacity, the research said.

According to the report, employment, power consumption, and other indicators have reached pre-pandemic levels, benefiting from lower curbs but levelling off at highs into September.

However, this is unlikely to upgrade India’s overall sovereign rating. DBS Research expects ratings to be status quo.



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RBI allows banks to sell fraud NPAs to ARCs, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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In a move that will help banks unload a major chunk of their non-performing assets (NPAs) to the bad bank, RBI has allowed the sale of loan accounts classified as fraud to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs). Earlier, banks were barred from selling NPAs classified as fraud, which had left them saddled with a resolution of several large accounts.

Banks are targeting to sell Rs 2 lakh crore worth of NPAs to the bad bank or the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) for recovery. However, they have hit a roadblock in respect of accounts that have been classified as fraud, as they were not allowed to sell them. RBI has now allowed banks to sell fraud accounts, provided the transferee is not connected to the borrower.

RBI has also said that responsibilities of the transferor with respect to continuous reporting, monitoring, filing of complaints with law enforcement agencies and proceedings related to such complaints shall also be transferred to the ARC. “The transfer of such loan exposures to an ARC, however, does not absolve the transferor from fixing the staff accountability as required under the extant instructions on frauds,” RBI said.

“Due to forensic audit in all big NPAs, in last three years, advances amounting Rs 3.83 lakh crore were declared as fraud accounts. This chunk of NPAs will be available for sale to ARCs,” Hari Hara Mishra, director, UV ARC, said.



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Several NPAs transferred to bad bank may head to liquidation, cost govt a bomb, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The government has announced the setting up of National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd with much fanfare and committed over Rs 30,000 crore guarantee for bad assets acquired by it, but it may be used up soon, going by the initial assets going by the list of assets proposed to be transferred to the bad bank.

Banks have identified Rs 82,496 crores worth of bad loans that could be transferred to the NARCL, which includes the following companies.

COMPANIES TOTAL BAD LOANS
Videocon Rs 22,532 crore
Reliance Naval & Engineering Rs 8,934 crore
Amtex Auto Rs 9,014 crore
Jaypee Infratech Rs 7, 950 crore
Castex Technologies Rs 6,337 crore
GTL Ltd Rs 4,866 crore
Visa Steel Rs 3,394 crore
Wind World India Ltd Rs 3,161 crore
Lavasa Corporation Rs 1,424 crore
Consolidated Construction Consortium Ltd Rs 1,353 crore

Also read: NARCL will empower lenders, but recovery from 26 accounts is not easy, industry says
Several assets such as Videocon have seen realisable value close to liquidation value in National Company Law Tribunal proceedings. Many big-ticket resolutions at Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code have seen haircuts over 90%. With most of the NPAs proposed to be transferred to the bad bank being old legacy ones, there has been an erosion in value, making them more likely to head to liquidation.

Lavasa Corporation has got bids worth Rs 700 crore for loan claims of over Rs 8,000 crore at NCLT.

Several NPAs transferred to bad bank may head to liquidation, cost govt a bomb

Close to liquidation

Though banks have made 100% provision for these assets, even Rajkiran Rai, chairman of Indian Banks Association, and MD & CEO of Union Bank of India does not expect more than 20-25 per cent recovery from these legacy accounts, he told a television channel.

The State Bank of India has identified NPAs with Rs 17,000-18,000 crore outstanding to be transferred to the NARCL, while Punjab National Bank has identified Rs 8,000 crore worth of NPAs, Union Bank of India Rs 7,800 crore of NPAs to be transferred to the National ARC. The Bank of India has identified about Rs 5,500 crores of assets for transfer while Indian Bank about Rs 1,900 crore.

“I am not hopeful. Because these are bad assets. Finally, all these will go under liquidation,” Siby Antony, chairman of the ARC Association of India.

The bad bank

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 30,600 crore government guarantee for the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) for acquiring stressed loan assets, paving the way for operationalisation of the bad bank.

Also read: Finance Minister Sitharaman announces bad bank, Cabinet approves backing of up to Rs 30,600 crore

The finance minister in Budget 2021-22 announced the setting up of a bad bank as part of the resolution of bad loans worth about Rs 2 lakh crore.

The bad bank or NARCL will pay up to 15 per cent of the agreed value for the loans in cash and the remaining 85 per cent would be government-guaranteed security receipts (SRs). The government guarantee would be invoked if there is a loss against the threshold value.

Also read: What are NARCL and IDRCL? How do they work and what is the plan?

This sovereign guarantee would be for a period of five years and NARCL would have to pay a fee for this.

“The SRs are getting the backstop through government funding only in as much as to pay the gap between the realised value (resolution/liquidation) and the face value of SRs and this will hold good for five years,” Sitharaman said.

The fee for the guarantee would be initially 0.25 per cent, which would progressively increase to 0.5 per cent in case of delay in resolution of bad loans.

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