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Punjab National Bank Puts On The Block Six NPAs Worth Rs 1,000 Crore

ARCs, NBFCs and other banks can submit binding bids for the PNB NPA accounts till June 26. The bids will open the following day.

The reserve price for the six PNB NPAs has been fixed at Rs 342 crore. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
The reserve price for the six PNB NPAs has been fixed at Rs 342 crore. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

State-owned Punjab National Bank has put on sale six non-performing assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore, including NPA accounts of Vandana Vidyut Steel Ltd. and Visa Steel Ltd.

The asset reconstruction companies, non-banking financial companies, other banks and financial institutions can submit binding bids for the PNB NPA accounts till June 26. The bids will open the following day. "We intend to place the (six accounts) for sale to ARCs/NBFCs/Other Banks/FIs etc," said a PNB notice on Sunday.

The reserve price for the six PNB NPAs has been fixed at Rs 342 crore.

Bhopal-based Vandana Vidyut Steel owes Rs 454.02 crore, while Kolkata-headquartered Visa Steel has an outstanding balance of Rs 443.76 crore.

The rest of the four PNB NPAs—Temptation Foods Ltd., Helios Photovoltaic, Cabcom Cables, and Vallabh Steel Ltd.—are Delhi based.

The sale process is to be handled by the Stressed Assets Targeted Resolution Action division of the bank. The submission of financial bids will be only through e-auction method, which will take place on the portal of the bank, PNB said.

In the backdrop of the $2 billion PNB fraud, perpetrated by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, the state-run lender has enhanced its recovery mechanism by forming the Stressed Asset Management Vertical and SASTRA.

It is also looking to raise Rs 10,000 crore in 2019-20 through sale of non-core assets, rights issue and expected writebacks from two large accounts undergoing insolvency proceedings.

In 2018-19, PNB’s consolidated net loss was at Rs 9,570.11 crore as against a loss of Rs 12,113.36 crore in 2017-18. Its income during the fiscal ended March 2019 rose to Rs 59,514.53 crore compared to Rs 57,608.19 crore in the previous year.

Gross NPAs stood at Rs 78,472.70 crore in 2018-19, lower than Rs 86,620.05 crore reported in 2017-18. Net NPAs were valued at Rs 30,037.66 crore as against Rs 48,684.29 crore.