Syndicate Bank to bring down NPA in the current year

Kochi: Syndicate Bank is aiming at bringing down the gross NPA to below 12% and the net NPA to below 6% in the current year from the existing level of 12.5 and 6 .5 % respectively.
The bank chairman and CEO Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said the bank has made a profit in the third quarter after loss in the previous quarters of FY 19. He hoped for an early settlement of the Rs 18,000 crore bad loans that are before national company law tribunal (NCLT).

He said the recent Rs 1600 crore fund infusion by the government along with previous tranches of funds have helped strengthen the capital base of the bank and the it may not need further support in the immediate future. `` For our future requirements we can go for tier-1 bonds or rights issue, ‘’ he said adding that such a decision will be taken only after assessing the performance of the bank in the current year. The bank is betting on house, retail, MSME and gold loans for its growth.

The bank is planning to launch employee share purchase scheme in the first week of March. The scheme offers share s of the bank at a discount ranging from 23 to 25 % with lower grade employees getting maximum discount. The bank is expecting to raise Rs 500 to 600 crore from the process. The share of the government which stands at 80% now will be reduced by 3 to 3.5 % by this measure, he said.

The bank has plans to open three more branches in Kerala in Palakkad district, he said.