NARCL gets a chief from its agent amid hopes the process speeds up
SBI) managing director Diwakar Gupta is set to take charge as the chairman of the government-backed bad loan aggregator National Asset Reconstruction (NARCL), after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved his nomination late last week, said three people aware of the development.
Gupta, who is the chairman of the bad bank's agent, India Debt Resolution (IDRCL), will resign from the job to take charge at NARCL in the first week of December, the people said.
«The RBI has given its approval a couple of days ago, clearing the decks for Gupta to take charge.
His name was proposed due to his vast experience and also with an expectation that he will get things moving because neither the government nor banks are happy with the pace of resolutions in NARCL. This move is an attempt at change with continuity,» said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.
Gupta declined to comment on the matter.
NARCL CEO Natarajan Sundar did not reply to an email seeking comment.
The NARCL has concluded the acquisition of just six companies since it started operations in January 2022 to house banking-sector advances that had gone sour. Dharani Sugars and SPML Infra and Parenteral Drugs were acquired by the bad bank in this financial year, following Jaypee Infratech, SSA International and Helios Photovoltaic that were acquired last fiscal.
The total debt acquired by NARCL stands at ₹14,166 crore, a far cry from the ₹82,845 crore target set by SBI chairman Dinesh Khara in January 2022, of which ₹50,335 crore was to be transferred by the end of 2021-22. However, the bad bank is running behind schedule owing to delays in the government guarantee renewal and lack of consensus with banks on the best price for assets and differences
