Union Bank of India is making the most of technology for recovery of non-performing assets (NPAs). In this regard, it launched a mobile-based application (app) for its officers a few days ago.

By entering the postal pincode of the area in the app, the bank officer gets all the details about the borrowers and defaulting accounts under the limits of that particular pincode.

If the officer decides to visit the borrower in the locality concerned, he can upload the photograph of the borrower and the premises on the app.

Speaking to BusinessLine during a recent visit to Mangaluru, Rajkiran Rai G, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said the bank has set a recovery target of ₹4,000 crore for the current fiscal.

The gross NPA of the bank stood at ₹37,286 crore at the end of June. Of this, around ₹9,000 crore is in accounts of below ₹50 crore.

He said the bank is looking to recover NPAs below ₹5 crore with help of the app.

Rai said the app gives information about the date on which the account became NPA, the security value, and the stage of litigation.

He said that an officer can settle the account in minutes if the borrower is ready to offer that amount. “We want to clear our books up to ₹5 crore as early as possible,” he said.

Terming this app as a facilitator, Rai said the recovery officer has a lot of information about the borrowers, their properties and promises. Under usual circumstances, once the officer is transferred all those details go with him. The next officer who assumes charge has to redo the whole thing. With this app, the next person inherits all the data about the borrower on his mobile.

Earlier, information about the borrower was individual-driven. Now, with this app, it will be system-driven, Rai added.

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