Public sector bank officers seek more teeth to recover advances

Officers' association of various public sectors banks(PSBs) under the banner of All India Nationalised Bank Officers' Federation (AlNBOF) has stressed on the strengthening of the legal system to recover the money advanced from the willful defaulters.

"The NPA ( non performing assets) is mounting.The existing legal system is not sufficient to take effective steps for recovery, so the banks need some strengthening"Data shows that Rs 2,25,000 crores worth assets are NPA.

He said that majority of the infrastructure projects have been financed by the PSBs in the country.

"The banks are not facing the capital crisis.The capital is sufficiently available but it is blocked towards the bad debts for funding the infrastructure projects and other portfolios, which should otherwise have been allocated from the budget by the government. So it is the duty of the government to infuse capital"Against the demand of Rs 2 lakh crores capital infusion, the government has allocated Rs 25,000 crore infusion in last budget. We are demanding to infuse the balance amount to strengthen the PSBsThe banker's body claimed that public sector banks have paid Rs 64,000 crore as dividend, Rs 1.35 lakh crore as income tax since nationalization of the banks while the government has infused only Rs 60,000 crore till 2014.

"We are opposing the government's move to reduce their stake in public sector lenders. The contribution of the PSBs for the upliftment of the nation cannot be undermined as all the government schemes are implemented by them and they accounts for about 65 per cent market share"

Source(Business  Standard)