Axis Bank puts loans worth Rs 1,062 cr on sale

A day after declaring its results for the June quarter, Axis Bank put on sale a portfolio of loans worth Rs 1,062 crore and sought bids from asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) on a cash basis, according to a public notice.

The names of the accounts and the bank’s exposures to individual accounts could not be ascertained immediately.

The assignment of debt will be made on the basis of competitive bidding. While the assignment will be on cash basis only, additional time may be provided for settlement, subject to the settlement amount being backed by a suitable bank guarantee.

Bidders must submit expressions of interest (EoIs) by August 3. Due diligence can be carried out between August 3 and August 20. The last date for submission of binding offer is August 20. The bank plans to complete the sale and assignment process by September 13.

On Monday, Axis Bank reported slippages worth Rs 4,337 crore for Q1 while stating that the recognition process for bad loans was nearly over. Jairam Sridharan, chief financial officer at the bank, told reporters, “We continue to think we are at the very last phases of asset quality recognition cycle in corporate and you’ll probably see another quarter of slightly elevated levels and then you should see going back to normalised levels.”

Lenders continue to sell piecemeal exposures to accounts even after the inter-creditor agreement (ICA) for resolution of stressed assets of over Rs 50 crore was signed by nearly two dozen lenders last week. Axis Bank is expected to be one of the signatories to the agreement. Under the terms of the ICA, a borrower will be given an opportunity to ‘cure’ the default and a reference for resolution will be made within 30 days of the default, if not repaid. The agreement, part of the government’s measure to deal with bad loans under Project Sashakt, will be effective by the end of this month.

In case a lender dissents to the resolution plan agreed upon by 66% of the members of a lending consortium, the lead lender shall have the right to arrange for buy-out of the facilities of the dissenting lender at a value that is equal to 85% of the lower of liquidation value or resolution value.

Axis Bank