UBI aims Rs 4,000 cr recovery in current fiscal

Kolkata, June 28 (IANS) State-run United Bank of India (UBI), which is looking to come out of the Reserve Bank of India's Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework by the second quarter of the current fiscal, is expecting to recover Rs 4,000 crore from the accounts of non-performing assets (NPA) this financial year, an official said on Friday.

"We have several cases with a total exposure of more than Rs 3,000 crore lying in the National Company Law Tribunals (NCLTs). We are expecting to get resolutions of about Rs 2,000-2,200 crore from the NCLT window and will be recovering another Rs 2,000 crore from our regular activities," said Ashok Kumar Pradhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Office, UBI.

He said the lender would also sell some of its assets to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs).

"We are showcasing (non-performing) assets worth about Rs 1,700 crore for sales. Last year, we could get Rs 400-500 crore from selling assets to ARCs," he said.

The bank's gross NPA and net NPA stood at 16.48 per cent and 8.67 per cent, respectively, at the end of the last financial year as against 24.10 per cent and 16.49 per cent, respectively, in the year-ago period.

"The bank should be able to bring down the net NPA below 6 per cent and we should be able to come out of the PCA framework by September end," Pradhan said, adding that it would depend how fast the resolutions come out of the NCLTs.

The Kolkata headquartered lender registered a net profit of Rs 95.18 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 after losses for seven consecutive quarters.