Five CII panel members default Rs 102 crore

Rohtas Industries has not paid Rs 2.47 crore to United Bank of India and Rs 9.76 crore to SBI, Powermex Steels Rs 25.36 crore to Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), Rayalsaeema Paper Rs 47 crore to Syndicate Bank, Rs 11 crore to IDBI and Rs 1.79 crore to IFCI and DCM Rs 5.44 crore to Times Bank. As per the RBI norms, the names of defaulters are kept secret. The RBI releases the names of defaulters against whom banks have filed suits. However, this is only the tip of the ice-berg.

Chakraborti said CII has withdrawn its recommendation for closure of three weak banks, but has not withdrawn its demand for privatising five healthy banks including SBI and not spoken a word about repayment and recovery of bad loans due from private corporate sector, particularly members of CII. AIBEA also derided the withdrawal of the demand for closure of three banks by CII, saying it was done as if it was a “concession to the employees’ sentiments”.

Out of total bad loans of Rs 58,000 crore, Rs 51,000 crore is due to nationalised banks and IDBI. Further, around Rs 30,000 crore is due from private corporate sector of which roughly Rs 25,000 crore is from members of CII. Of the Rs 6,000 crore additions this year to bad loans, more than Rs 4,000 crore is on account of CII members, he said. “Let the nation know who have eaten away peoples’ monies as loans but nor repaid. It is sheer legalised looting,” he said.

Chakraborti said so far 15 private banks have failed with Bareilly Banking Corporation being the last bank disaster. He said all the liabilities of these private banks have been taken over by one or the other nationalised banks. He exhorted the government to expose the big defaulting borrowers and take immediate, stringent legislative measures for recovery of these loans and added that wilful default of bank loans should be made a criminal offence.

Moreover, Rs 2,500 crore of the combined loan portfolio of FIs – Industrial Development Bank of India, ICICI Ltd, and Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) – is locked in legal suits.

CII withdraws report, denies default
NEW DELHI: THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today said it had recommended to the government not to consider its report on the closure of three weak public sector banks, following all round protests from bank employees and other business chambers. "We asked the government not to consider the recommendations keeping the sentiments of the banks, employees and management in mind," CII director general Tarun das said.

Das asserted that the Chamber had not withdrawn the recommendations of the task force on non-performing assets of nationalised banks headed by ICICI Ltd managing director K V Kamath under any pressure and said, "we suggested closure of banks in absence of funding requirement. May be, we have not worked out a comprehensive plan for the closure."

The CII report had recommended closure of loss-making UCO Bank, Indian Bank and the United Bank of India.The Chamber has also denied reports that members of the task force including its president Rahul Bajaj and vice-president Arun Bharat Ram were major defaulters to nationalised banks.