Bandhan Bank Receives Rs 290-Crore Claim Payout Under CGFMU Scheme

Bandhan Bank Ltd. has received a claim payout of Rs 290 crore under the credit guarantee fund for micro units scheme, the bank said in an exchange filing.

This is computed as Rs 314.68 crore assessed as claim payout as of March 31, 2024 and net of Rs 25.09 crore pertaining to recoveries from eligible accounts from April 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2024.

The bank raised the claim to National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company.

In October, the bank had said that it will receive a payout of Rs 314.68 crore from the NCGTC, following the completion of a forensic audit. The revised amount considers exclusion of certain accounts which have been adjusted from the claim, the bank had said.

This was based on a conservative approach taken by the bank, in view of certain operational gaps due to limitations imposed by Covid-19 restrictions during fiscal 2021.

In February 2024, NDTV Profit had reported that NCGTC initiated a forensic audit of loans worth Rs 23,300 crore due to concerns about the lender's credit guarantee portfolios. The audit began in December 2023, following a preliminary audit conducted by NCGTC, which raised several observations.

The total claim payout under the scheme was assessed at Rs 1,231.29 crore as of March 2023. The bank had initially claimed Rs 916.61 crore from NCGTC, which was settled. It made an additional claim of Rs 1,296.32 crore in the second quarter of the financial year-ended March 2024.

The amount was within the maximum eligibility of 15% of the total insured loans, according to a statement to the exchanges.

Bandhan Bank had obtained guarantees under the Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units scheme and Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, set up by the Indian government to guarantee payments against loan defaults.

The bank insured a loan portfolio of approximately Rs 20,807 crore under the CGFMU scheme. Approximately 85% of the insured CGFMU portfolio has been repaid, while the remaining 15% turned into non-performing assets, that were written off as of March, it said.