₹89,000-crore NPAs shifted to NARCL

• Lenders have decided to initially transfer 22 bad loan accounts of ₹89,000 crores to the proposed National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), aiding the cleanup of their balance sheets.
• The aggregate amount of bad loans likely to be transferred in trenches will be ₹2 trillion.
• The total stress in the banking system would be in excess of Rs 15 lakh crore.

• The setting up of NARCL, the proposed bad bank for taking over stressed assets of lenders, was announced in the Budget for 2021-22.
• The plan is to create a bad bank to house bad loans of ₹500 crore and above, in a structure that will contain an asset reconstruction company (ARC) and an asset management company (AMC) to manage and recover dud assets.
• The new entity is being created in collaboration with both public and private sector banks.

Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC)

• It is a specialized financial institution that buys the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) from banks and financial institutions so that they can clean up their balance sheets.
• This helps banks to concentrate on normal banking activities.
• The asset reconstruction companies or ARCs are registered under the RBI.

NARCL is different from existing ARCs by following ways

• The proposed bad bank will have a public sector character since the idea is mooted by the government and majority ownership is likely to rest with state-owned banks.
• At present, ARCs typically seek a steep discount on loans. With the proposed bad bank being set up, the valuation issue is unlikely to come up since this is a government initiative.
• The government-backed ARC will have deep pockets to buy out big accounts and thus free up banks from carrying these accounts on their books.