Bandhan Bank To Sell NPAs Worth Nearly Rs 7,000 Crore

Bandhan Bank Ltd. board on Thursday approved plans to sell identified non-performing assets and written-off portfolios worth Rs 6,931 crore through bidding process.

The loan portfolios belong to Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (‘EEB’) including group loans and small business and agri loans, and Aspiring Business Group (‘ABG’) of the Bank, according to a stock exchange filing.

The Kolkata-based lender will go for bidding as per Swiss Challenge method for sale of NPA portfolio with more than 180 days past due, having principal outstanding amounting to Rs 3,212.17 crore, as on Sept. 30, 2025.

Further, the bank will tap the auction route for sale of written-off loan portfolio of Rs 3,719.14 crore.

A Swiss Challenge auction is a bidding process used by banks to sell their bad loans, where an initial offer is made, and the bank then solicits counter-bids from other parties. The bank compares the counter-offers to the original bid and can award the sale to the highest counter-bidder, who the original bidder may then have the option to match. This method is used to ensure the best possible price is achieved for the loan portfolio.

As of September, Bandhan Bank’s gross NPAs stood at Rs 7,015 crore. The gross NPA and net NPA ratio were largely stable sequentially at 5% and 1.4% respectively.

Bandhan Bank undertook technical write-offs amounting to Rs 865 crore during the September quarter, of which write-off in the EEB portfolio was Rs 799 crore. EEB Group constitutes 23.6% of the total loan book.

Gross slippages increased slightly to Rs1,590 crore compared to Rs 1,553 crore in the June quarter, primarily driven by the EEB segment. Slippages in the EEB portfolio were higher at Rs 1,118 crore during the quarter versus Rs 1,089 crore in the preceding quarter, reflecting ongoing stress in the segment, the management said during its earnings call.

Shares of Bandhan Bank settled 1% lower at Rs 149.65 on the BSE, ahead of the announcement, compared to a 0.1% advance in the benchmark Sensex. The stock has fallen 6% on a year-to-date basis.