The Reserve Bank on Friday said the stress being faced by lenders from their exposures to the aviation sector is a 'manageable problem'.
"Yes, aviation is a problem. . . a problem, at this stage we feel is manageable," Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai.
Aviation companies, led by flamboyant Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines, have been witnessing stress and it has also impacted their debt servicing, with some accounts turning non-performing assets.
Kingfisher alone has an outstanding debt of about Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion) spread across 18 banks and with no fresh lending in sight, faces acute problem on working capital.
It has had to cancel its flights as a result of the problem since the past one week or so.
The state-owned Air India is the second problem account in the sector but lenders last week announced a restructuring of its around Rs 18,000 crore (Rs 180 billion), of which Rs 7,400 crore (Rs 74 billion) will be converted into non-convertible