BBB to meet again; NPAs, funds infusion on the table

New Delhi: The newly-constituted Bank Board Bureau's (BBB) second meeting is coming up on Friday to deliberate on a host of issues, including consolidation, stressed assets and capital infusion.

"The Bureau, among other things, will discuss capital requirements of public sector banks, apart from budgeted provision. Capital is very important to kickstart lending," a senior finance ministry official said.

BBB will also decide on filling board-level vacancies in various banks, the official added.

Besides, it is looking at bringing the NPA level down in public lenders.

The first meeting was held on April 8, which was attended by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

The Bureau members -- ICICI Bank's former joint MD H N Sinor, Bank of Baroda's former CMD Anil K Khandelwal and rating agency Crisil's ex-chief Rupa Kudwa -- were present.

Its ex-officio members -- Ameising Luikham, Secretary Department of Public Enterprises, and R Gandhi, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank -- also took part in the deliberations.
The Bureau has three ex-officio members and an equal number of expert members, in addition to the chairman.

The Bureau has been constituted earlier this year to help the government select heads of PSBs and financial institutions and assist banks in developing strategies and capital-raising plans. It will also constantly engage with the board of directors of all the PSBs for their growth and development.

There are 22 state-owned banks in the country, including SBI, IDBI Bank and Bharatiya Mahila Bank.