New Delhi, Nov. 22 Seven public sector banks have a total exposure of Rs 1,090 crore in Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd as on September 30.
However, among these seven, Canara Bank is the only bank where the account has turned into a non-performing asset (NPA). Giving this information in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said, “As against the same (total exposure), they held security of value Rs 1,469.04 crore.” Canara Bank has the highest exposure to Deccan Chronicle with Rs 350 crore, which the bank has classified as an NPA.
“Banks are closely monitoring their loan portfolio and making all out efforts, as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines in vogue, so that their loan amount does not turn into NPA,” Meena said.
The Hyderabad-based publisher of English daily Deccan Chronicle is in the news for the liquidity crisis it is faced with and lenders initiating a series of cases, including a winding-up petition by one of the lenders. The company-promoted Indian Premier League franchise team Deccan Chargers, which represented the team from Hyderabad, has been removed from the league by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for failure to meet obligations such as providing bank guarantees.
The efforts of the Deccan Chronicle management to sell the team did not materialise. The Hyderabad franchise was recently bagged by Sun TV.