PNB Raised Over Rs 4,000 Crore From Stressed Asset Sale In March Quarter, Says CEO Mehta

Punjab National Bank Ltd. said it has recovered over Rs 4,000 crore from the sale of stressed assets in the March quarter, falling behind its target by over half.

The state-run lender had recovered Rs 16,608 crore in first nine months of the financial year 2018-19 and would close the financial year by crossing the Rs 20,000-crore mark, the lender’s Chief Executive Officer Sunil Mehta told BloombergQuint.

The bank had, however, targeted recovering Rs 10,000 crore by selling bad loans in January-March period. That came after it had reported a profit following successive losses due to India’s largest banking fraud in February 2018 involving the diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

The bank also expects to raise around Rs 3,100 crore through non-core assets sale in April-June period which would be aided by divesting its stake in PNB Housing Finance Ltd., and the sale of its erstwhile headquarters in Delhi, from which it’s expected to raise Rs 600 crore.

That’s in addition to the Rs 1,851 crore PNB will raise from its stake sale in PNB Housing Finance Ltd. to General Atlantic Group and Varde Partners.