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How India’s Actual Bad Debt Compares With Official Bank Numbers
Banks reported a smaller pie of bad loans only because Supreme Court barred them from classifying any loan as NPA from September.
08 Feb 2021, 05:04 PM IST 
Employees work in the home loan clearing department at a HDFC branch in Mumbai. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) -- Most Indian banks are reporting lower bad-loan ratios, aided by a Supreme Court ruling that bars lenders from classifying any non-performing assets from the start of September.
However, the banks have also been outlining how much the ratio would be if they’d mark the borrowing as bad. In almost every case, the ratio is much higher.
Here’s a look at the full extent of India’s bad loan problem in selected financiers:
| Bank | Reported bad debt (Sept. 30) | Reported bad debt (Dec. 31) | Actual bad debt (Dec. 31) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axis | 4.18% | 3.44% | 4.55% |
| Bank of Baroda | 9.14% | 8.48% | 9.63% |
| Canara | 8.23% | 7.46% | 8.95% |
| HDFC | 1.08% | 0.81% | 1.38% |
| ICICI | 5.17% | 4.38% | 5.42% |
| IDBI | 25.08% | 23.52% | 24.33% |
| IndusInd | 2.21% | 1.74% | 2.93% |
| Kotak Mahindra | 2.55% | 2.26% | 3.27% |
| Punjab National Bank | 13.4% | 13.0% | 14.7% |
| RBL | 3.34% | 1.84% | 4.57% |
| State Bank of India | 5.28% | 4.77% | 5.44% |
| Shadow Bank | Reported bad debt (Sept. 30) | Reported bad debt (Dec. 31) | Actual bad debt (Dec. 31) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finance | 1.03% | 0.55% | 2.86% |
| HDFC Ltd. | 1.83% | 1.67% | 1.9% |
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