Banks gross NPA to improve to 4% by next fiscal

The gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the banks is expected to improved 90 basis points on-year to 5 per cent this fiscal year and another 100 basis points to a decadal low of 4 per cent by next fiscal, ratings agency CRISIL said in a release.

This was on the back of benefits from the proposed sale of NPAs to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), recovery in economy post pandemic and higher credit growth.

The release said that not all segments will perform equally well. The biggest improvement will be in the corporate segment, where gross NPAs is seen falling below 2 per cent next fiscal from a peak of 16 per cent as on March 31, 2018.

“The steady improvement in corporate asset quality is clearly reflected in leading indicators such as the credit quality of bank exposures. A CRISIL Ratings study of large exposures of banks, constituting more than half of corporate advances, shows the share of high-safety1 exposures has increased to 77 per cent as on March 2022 from 59 per cent in March 2017, while exposure to sub-investment grade companies more than halved to 7 per cent versus 17 per cent,” said Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director and Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, CRISIL Ratings.

This asset quality improvement in the corporate segment follows a significant clean-up done of bank books in recent years, and strengthened risk management and underwriting. This has also led to increased preference for borrowers with better credit profiles.