People’s Bank clarifies on Non-Performing Assets portfolio

In view of the recent discussions in several public forums relating to the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) portfolio, the People’s Bank yesterday issued the following statement. 

NPAs are loans whose interest and/or principal have not been duly serviced for a stipulated time period. A mere classification to NPA does not constitute a write off. 

If/when a facility is classified as NPA, the Bank commences its due process to recover which includes actions such as follow ups, negotiations, auctioning and litigation. In this context, the following points are emphasised for better understanding;

a) A write off is undertaken only if and after every other avenue for recovery is fully exhausted 

b) The bank’s portfolio of NPAs consists of those originating/ having been so classified during a period of over two decades 

c) None of the loans discussed recently in public forums have been written off

People’s Bank’s NPA portfolio compares well with industry averages. 

As a responsible Financial Services Provider which provides unparalleled security for customer deposits, People’s Bank considers recovery of NPAs as a matter of utmost priority.