Indian bankers in talks over loans

Debt concern: A man checking his mobile phone in front of a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Kolkata. Future’s leading financial creditors include India’s largest lender SBI, along with smaller rivals Bank of Baroda and Bank of India. — Reuters

MUMBAI: Informal talks are taking place to deal with the fallout from two rulings by India’s Supreme Court that threaten the repayment of loans totalling nearly 500 billion rupees (US$6.73bil or RM28.43bil) to some of India’s largest banks, bankers close to the matter say.

Any failure to recoup the money adds to stress in the banking sector, which is already dealing with an increased level of bad loans and reduced profits because of the impact of the pandemic.