State Bank of India defaults on INR 96,000 crore; refuses to disclose names of defaulters

The State Bank of India, a nationalised bank, has been bankrupted by its borrowers to the tune of INR 96,588 crore. Despite taking 279 cases of bad debts to the National Company Law Tribunal, 67 percent of the claims worth about 1 lakh 44 crore rupees have been permanently abandoned. It has also been found that there are outstanding loans of more than INR 100 crore.

Vivek Velankar, a shareholder of the nationalised bank State Bank of India, had requested some statistics from the company on the occasion of its general meeting. The bank has provided these statistics to Velankar. 

However, the bank has refused to disclose the names of the large companies that defaulted on their loans. Velankar had requested information from the bank regarding the names of major defaulters, recovery of arrears, waived loans, and losses incurred while recovering loans.

The data provided by the bank to them in this regard has revealed information about bad loans. In the last eight to nine years, State Bank of India has taken as many as 279 cases to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). There are total claims of INR 1,44,967 crore in this case. However, only 16 percent of these claims, i.e. INR 23,839 crore have been recovered so far, while INR 96,588 crore (67 percent) have been waived. The names of the big defaulters are secret.

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Many defaulters have lost crores of rupees to banks. Due to this, these cases have been taken to quasi-judicial authorities like NCLT. However, the bank still does not disclose the names of these defaulters. Velankar, who is the president of Pune-based Sajag Nagarik Manch, has expressed his anger over this.

Banks publish the names of small defaulters who owe loans of less than one crore. They seize the properties of small defaulters. They recover the loans from them. If a loan is defaulted, their names and addresses are published. However, large defaulters are let off the hook. No action is taken against directors responsible for paying large loans. Velankar also raised the question of why banks go to great lengths to protect the reputation of such large defaulters by keeping their names secret.