PSBs wrote off bad loans worth over ₹12 lakh crore in 10 years; SBI tops list

Public sector banks (PSBs) have written off loans amounting to over ₹12 lakh crore in the last ten years, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said PSBs have written off an aggregate loan amount of ₹12,08,828 crore from the financial year 2015-16 to 2024-25.

He clarified that write-offs do not result in waiver of liabilities of borrowers, who remain liable for repayment, and that banks continue recovery actions through various mechanisms, including civil courts, Debts Recovery Tribunals, the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

According to bank-wise data for the last five years, State Bank of India recorded the highest write-offs at ₹1.14 lakh crore, followed by Union Bank of India at ₹85,540 crore and Punjab National Bank at ₹81,243 crore.

For FY25, State Bank of India wrote off ₹20,309 crore, while Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India wrote off ₹12,159 crore and ₹11,634 crore, respectively.

Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, and Bank of India also reported substantial write-offs during the period.

Banks write off non-performing assets, including those fully provided for after four years, in line with RBI guidelines and board-approved policies, the minister said.

“Recovery in written-off loans is an ongoing process and banks continue pursuing their recovery actions initiated against borrowers under the various recovery mechanism available to them,” Chaudhary added.

RBI provisional data for FY 2024-25*