Bandhan Bank Clarifies On Audit Of Credit Guarantee Portfolios
The total claimed amount so far is much lower than the maximum eligible amount, the bank said.
Days after the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd. initiated an audit of Bandhan Bank's credit guarantee portfolios, the lender has issued clarifications in this regard.
The bank, in an exchange filing on Monday, said that it took insurance for the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units scheme, under which it disbursed Rs 20,800 crore. Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, it disbursed over Rs 1,950 crore in FY21.
However, any bank can only claim a maximum of 15% of the total insured amount under CGFMU insurance. And so far, the bank has claimed and received Rs 917 crore from the NCGTC, it said.
Pursuant to the application of an additional claim of Rs 1,296 crore in Q2 FY24, the audit was initiated.
"The bank made an additional claim of Rs 1,296 crore in the second quarter of FY24. The total claimed amount so far is much lower than the maximum eligible amount," the bank said.
Additionally, it stated that customers had repaid nearly 85% of the funds disbursed.
On Feb. 5, NDTV Profit reported that NCGTC conducted a preliminary audit in late 2023, but since it had concerns, it decided to initiate a forensic audit.
In the exchange filing too, the lender relayed the same.
"NCGTC had conducted an initial sample audit through an independent agency after the second claim... Subsequently, NCGTC decided to commission a detailed audit of the claims," it said.
Bandhan Bank said that it continues its recovery process from the remaining accounts. It has also recovered more than 20% of the claims and received Rs 917 crore from customers.
While the forensic audit is for the entire credit guarantee portfolio of the bank, the focus remains on 4.9 lakh borrowers who were classified as non-performing assets, as reported previously.