Although high provisioning by 39 listed banks in the fourth quarter led to less than one per cent increase in net non-performing assets (NPAs) in 2012-13, the full fiscal year net NPAs increased by 51 per cent to Rs 92,825 crore, according to NPASource.com.
The Ahmedabad-based portal focused on resolution of stressed assets said here that NPAs, or bad loans, of these banks increased by 0.8 per cent or Rs 750 crore only in Q4FY13. As on December 31, 2012, net NPAs of 39 listed banks stood at Rs 92,075 crore, which rose to Rs 92,825 crore as on March 31, 2013.
But, for the full year ended March 31, 2013, the net NPAs, at Rs 92,825 crore were higher by 51.2 per cent for these banks as against Rs 61,381 crore as of the end of FY12. Out of the total 40 listed banks, 39 have declared results so far, eight of which reported more than Rs 100 crore reductions in net NPAs during the fourth quarter.
These eight banks together accounted for a drop of Rs 5,645 crore in net NPAs during Q4. State Bank of India reported the biggest drop of around Rs 3,400 crore during the fourth quarter.
D. K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Atishya Group, owner of NPAsource.com, said the study shows that banks are working hard on improving asset quality.
With interest rates expected to fall , the next few quarters may see a slowdown in the growth rate of NPAs. But, pressure on NPAs, especially for public sector banks, will continue as more loans become NPAs due to the overall slowdown in the Indian and global economy.
As a large chunk of the provisioning for NPAs is done by most banks in the last quarter, there is a marginal increase in NPAs in Q4FY13. But, the first two quarters of current fiscal are going to see a higher growth in NPAs as provisioning will be low, he said in a statement.
According to a NPAsource.com study, gross NPAs of these 39 listed banks stood at Rs 1,79,431 crore as on March 31, 2013, as against Rs 1,78,544 crore as on December 31, 2012, implying a rise of Rs 887 crore during the fourth quarter.
During 2012-13, gross NPAs of these 39 banks rose by 36.1 per cent, while net NPAs rose by 51.2 per cent.