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Mumbai, Jan.6 With 456 non-performing loan cases aggregating Rs 5,230 crore being successfully resolved in the last four years, the Stressed Assets Stabilisation Fund (SASF), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed in September 2004 by the Government for acquiring non-performing loans of the erstwhile IDBI, is aggressively seeking to resolve the remaining 175 ‘difficult’ cases aggregating Rs 3,770 crore.

The urgency to resolve as many non-performing loans (NPL) cases as possible stems from the fact that with the passage of time the value of ‘assets’ in the Fund’s portfolio would get depreciated.

Of the 456 cases aggregating Rs 5,230 crore settled so far, the Fund has made cash recovery totalling Rs 2,384 crore.

In 2004, the Government had issued non-interest bearing 20-year bonds to the Fund.

The Fund, in turn, transferred them to IDBI as a consideration for ‘buying’ NPAs aggregating Rs 9,000 crore.

Proceeds from the recovery made by the Fund are utilised by IDBI to redeem the bonds. So far, bonds worth Rs 2,384 crore have been redeemed.

“We have settled almost all the ‘low hanging fruit’ cases from our NPA portfolio. We are now aggressively tackling the more difficult cases. We are taking recourse to debt restructuring in respect of units that are potentially viable under and outside corporate debt restructuring mechanism, going in for compromise settlement, filing recovery suit against promoters in debt recovery tribunal and taking over the units under the provisions of SARFAESI Act,” said Mr B Ravindranath, Executive Trustee, SASF.

SASF, according to Mr Ravindranath, has been accorded the status of Financial Institution to take advantage of the provisions of the Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions, 1993, by approaching the Debt Recovery Tribunal as well as Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act 2002, Corporate Debt Restructuring mechanism for resolution of the assets acquired.

Among others, industrial units in the SASF portfolio belong to the textiles, food products, metal products, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastic, electrical/electronic, engineering, auto & auto ancillary, cement, power, and hotel sectors.

Mr Ravindranath said the Fund is also taking recourse to auction of units, sale of movable/ immovable properties, and issuing possession notices under SARFAESI.

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