Clean-up: IDBI Bank to mull setting off accumulated losses as on April 1, 2021

IDBI Bank on Tuesday said it will be holding a board meeting on Friday to consider setting off its accumulated losses as on April 1, 2021. The move gains significance at a time when the bank claims that it satisfies all conditions for exiting the central bank’s prompt corrective action (PCA) framework and the government has expressed its intention to privatise the bank.

As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) rules, IDBI Bank is classified as a private bank but it is still effectively public-sector in nature, majority-owned as it is by the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

In a notification to the exchanges, the bank said, “In terms of Regulation 29 of the Sebi (LODR) Regulations, 2015, it is hereby informed that a proposal for setting off the accumulated losses of the bank….shall be considered at the meeting of board of directors of IDBI Bank Ltd. to be held on Friday, February 12, 2021.”

Earlier, on November 30, 2020, Chennai-based Indian Bank had carried out a similar exercise, setting off accumulated losses of Rs 18,975.53 crore from its share premium account. These losses were carried by Allahabad Bank at the time of its amalgamation into Indian Bank on April 1, 2020.

On January 28, IDBI Bank’s management had said it now fulfils all parameters required to exit the PCA framework. Its capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR), including countercyclical buffer (CCB), stood at 14.77%, against the regulatory minimum of 11.5%.

Its net NPA ratio was at 1.94% against a required 6%, and its return on assets (RoA) for Q3FY21 stood at 0.51%. Its leverage ratio stood at 5.71%, as against a minimum of 4%. The bank posted a net profit of Rs 378 crore for the December quarter, as against a loss of Rs 5,763 crore in Q3FY20.

RBI has never explicitly spelt out what the conditions for exiting the PCA framework are.

IDBI Bank’s shares ended at Rs 30.10, up 2.03% from the previous day’s close on the BSE.