With reference to “Visible pressure on banks' loan quality, says Crisil” ( Business Line , April 4), the rating agency's outlook on the asset quality of Indian banks for March 2013 appears reasonable, if the past is any indication. But the most concerning aspect is that, about 20 per cent of assets restructured after the 2008-09 global economic crisis have become NPAs. It was reported that in 2011-12 that corporate debt, aggregating a whopping Rs 76,251 crore, came up for restructuring before the CDR cell. Maintaining good asset quality and managing NPAs are twin issues that will be particularly challenging for banks.
S. Umashankar
The District Collector of Coimbatore deserves praise for his call to the banks to treat “Education loans as national investment” ( Business Line , April 2). There is no doubt that a large number of students aspiring for higher studies are not able to fulfil their aspirations due to financial constraints.
Treating educational loans as lending to corporate bodies or business houses would lead to hassles and delays in granting them. The Collector's statement that though the growth in education loans in 2011 was higher than in 2010, the amount was not commensurate with the strength of the student population in the district, is significant as quite a large number of students have not been able to avail of the facility. The banks should display greater initiative in enlarging the facility to a larger number of students and make loans hassle-free.
T. R. Anandan