NARCL to bring on board more directors soon

The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) or bad bank will soon bring on board more directors for fair representation of shareholders and better corporate governance, according to sources.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave licence to the Rs 6,000 crore NARCL led by public sector lenders with 51 per cent stake in the entity.

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There would be shareholders' representation from the private sector lenders' side, which will have 49 per cent, sources said.

Besides, the RBI has asked NARCL to submit details of the full board soon, they added.

The Indian Banks' Association (IBA), entrusted with the task of setting up the bad bank, has put a preliminary board for NARCL in place. The company has hired P M Nair, a stressed assets expert from State Bank of India (SBI), as the managing director.

The other directors on the board are IBA CEO Mehta, SBI Deputy Managing Director S S Nair and Canara Bank's Chief General Manager Ajit Krishnan Nair.

Last month, the Cabinet cleared a proposal to provide government guarantee worth Rs 30,600 crore to security receipts issued by NARCL.

Soon after this, SBI, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank picked up 13.27 per cent stake each in the NARCL, while Punjab National Bank acquired about 12 per cent stake.

The NARCL will pay up to 15 per cent of the agreed value for the bad loans in cash and the remaining 85 per cent would be government-guaranteed security receipts.

The bad bank will take over identified bad loans of lenders. The lead bank with an offer in the hand of NARCL will go for a 'Swiss Challenge', wherein other asset reconstruction players will be invited to better the offer made by a chosen bidder for finding a higher valuation of a non-performing asset on sale.

The company will pick up those assets that are 100 per cent provided for by the lenders. Banks have identified around 22 bad loans worth Rs 90,000 crore to be transferred to NARCL in the initial phase.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in Budget 2021-22 said that the high level of provisioning by public sector banks of their stressed assets calls for measures to clean up bank books.

"An Asset Reconstruction Company Limited and Asset Management Company would be set up to consolidate and take over the existing stressed debt," she had said in the Budget speech.

It will manage and dispose of the assets to alternative investment funds and other potential investors for eventual value realisation, she had said.

India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL), a step down asset management company, was also registered last month with a capital of Rs 50 crore.

Public sector banks to own 49 per cent of IDRCL, tasked with the resolution and restructuring of bad loans bought by the NARCL.

Narayan Keelveedhi Seshadri, Arvind Sadashiv Mokashi, and Anilraj Chellan are interim directors on the board.