The chairman of India's largest bank on why he would like to forget the first six months of his stint and the steps he has taken to revitalise the institution.
The account turned bad before Chaudhari took over as SBI chairman and the asset was sold to AARC following an open bidding process, months after Chaudhari retired, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Chaudhuri succeeds managing director R Sridharan, who was the acting chairman after O P Bhatt retired on March 31.
On October 31, Chaudhuri was arrested from his Delhi home by the Jaisalmer police for his alleged role in crippled Rs 200 crore Garh Rajwada hotel project in the city which was sold for Rs 25 crore to Alchemist ARC in March 2014. The project was financed by the bank in 2007.
Finance ministry orders probe.
Mallya took a dig at Chaudhuri by saying, while the SBI chairman had all guns blazing on loan recovery, all his guns were blazing on restart and rehabilitation of the airline.
Top bankers on Wednesday exuded confidence that Raghuram Govind Rajan, who today took over as the 23rd Governor of the Reserve Bank, has the intellectual prowess to wade through the present difficulties facing the economy and wished him all success for the stint at Mint Road.
Kingfisher lenders will soon decide on future course of action with regard to the grounded airline as they do not want the company to close down, State Bank of India (SBI) said.
Bankers said India's structural story from medium to long term was intact and they were optimistic about the future.
Delays in crucial PSU appointments a reflection of poor governance and political vested interests
On October 5, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, finally wrote to the troubled Kingfisher Airlines, asking it to show cause why its licence should not be revoked.
The State Bank of India on Friday said Kingfisher lenders have decided to release funds to the debt-ridden airline on "humanitarian grounds" considering that its employees have not been paid for the past seven months.
The consortium of 17 banks, led by SBI, has an outstanding of over Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) from the carrier but has shares of listed entities like United Spirits as collaterals which should realise Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).
SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri feels a 0.50 per cent interest rate cut is needed.
State Bank Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri's call last week for abolishing the mandatory cash reserve ratio had attracted a sharp reaction from RBI Deputy Governor K C Chakrabarty. CRR is the amount of deposits that banks park with the RBI as a prudential measure without earning interest on it.
Last year the bank taken everybody by surprise by opting to keep all its branches open on October 2
SBI has over Rs 1,500-crore (Rs 15-billion) of exposure to Kingfisher.
The consortium of 17 banks, led by SBI, has an outstanding of over Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) from the carrier.
A cut in the CRR will help banks release their funds stuck with the RBI on which they do not get any interest from the regulator.
Four days ahead of RBI's monetary policy review, SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri says a cut of one percentage point in CRR will allow the bank to lower lending rates 20 basis points.
Gold prices have dropped, but still they are above 70 per cent of the peak value.
Worst quarter in a decade, fund crunch, Fitch downgrade and messy NPAs. . . he has had little to cheer about
The message was given to the airline's CEO, Sanjay Aggarwal, at a meeting here on Wednesay.
The SBI chief said the bank was comfortable on the liquidity front.
SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday the Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) account had turned into a non-performing asset (NPA). "The account became an NPA on December 31, 2011. They are in default," Chaudhuri said.
Kingfisher Airlines needs to invest at least Rs 2,000 crore to restart its operations, said one of its lender SBI's Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri.
On Saturday, bankers met the KFA management in yet another inconclusive meeting.
Ahead of RBI's monetary policy review, SBI on Monday expressed hope the apex bank will cut interest rates by 0.5 per cent and CRR by up to one per cent to boost sagging growth.
According to the annual report of SBI, overall staff strength declined by 7,452 employees during the last fiscal.
Pratip Chaudhuri, SBI chairman, feels that the airlines should bring the amount to the table.
Reserve Bank's recent policy stance has earned for it praise as well as brickbats.
SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri on Tuesday once again expressed his open disagreement with the RBI on cash reserve ratio (CRR) saying it is a "waste" for the economy and successive interest rate cuts by central bank have failed to contain inflation.
Within hours of RBI slashing the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 0.25 per cent, State Bank (SBI) on Tuesday hinted at a likely reduction in lending rates soon.
State Bank of India Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri again made a strong pitch for a reduction in banks' Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at the Reserve Bank's mid-quarter review of monetary policy scheduled September 7.
Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao surely knows how to crack a joke even on as mundane a topic as the cash reserve ratio (CRR).
ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath on Thursday disagreed with the suggestion of SBI chief Pratip Chaudhuri that RBI should scrap CRR, saying it is part of the monetary policy and no issue can be made of it.
A day after RBI deputy governor's comment, Chaudhuri says his idea on cash reserve ratio was meant to ignite public debate
At present, CRR, the portion of deposits which commercial banks keep with the central bank, stands at 6 per cent.
RBI slams public sector banks for the strange phenomenon of profits dipping when a new chairman takes over.
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