PSU banks likely to get capital support in Q4

The government is likely to pump capital in public sector banks during the last quarter of the current financial year to meet the regulatory requirements.

The government in the Budget 2021-22 has made an allocation of Rs 20,000 crore for the capital infusion in the state-owned banks.

The capital position of banks would be reviewed in the next quarter, and depending on the requirement, the infusion will be made to meet the regulatory needs.

In the current fiscal so far, all 12 public sector banks have posted a profit, which is being ploughed back to bolster the balance sheet of the banks, sources said.

Going forward, they said, the rise in stressed assets would determine capital requirement.

If numbers are anything to go by, the sources said, the financial health of public sector banks are showing gradual signs of improvement across the spectrum.

Last month, the Reserve Bank removed UCO Bank and Indian Overseas Bank from prompt corrective action framework (PCAF), following improvement in various parameters and a written commitment that the state-owned lender will comply with the minimum capital norms.

However, the only public sector lender left under the PCA framework is Central Bank of India.

PCA is triggered when banks breach certain regulatory requirements such as return on asset, minimum capital, and quantum of the non-performing asset.

PCA restrictions disable the bank in several ways to lend freely and force it to operate under a restrictive environment that turns out to be a hurdle to growth.

Last financial year, the government infused Rs 20,000 crore in the five public sector banks. Out of this, Rs 11,500 crore had gone to three banks under the PCA -- UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and Central Bank of India.

The government infused Rs 4,800 crore in Central Bank of India, Rs 4,100 crore in Indian Overseas Bank and Kolkata-based UCO Bank got Rs 2,600 crore.

The government has infused over Rs 3.15 lakh crore into public sector banks (PSBs) in the 11 years through 2018-19.

In 2019-20, the government infused Rs 70,000 crore capital into PSBs to boost credit for a strong impetus to the economy.

Photograph: PTI Photo