Management of Non-Performing Assets – A Comprehensive Model for Assessment

In a bank led economy, the concern for effective management of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector is relevant. The most commonly used indicators for assessing the performance of banks, have been Gross NPA (GNPA) and Net NPA (NNPA) ratios. But the techniques adopted by banks for NPA reduction vary widely and play a significant role in the improvement of quality of NPA management of banks. After an in-depth analysis of various factors affecting NPA management in banks, this paper makes an attempt to compare the performance of Indian banks with respect to various aspects of NPA management, by developing an index which will enable one to have a clear understanding of the bank's performance vis-à-vis its peers. By constructing this index, the study revealed that, though the economic downturn was faced by all banks, deterioration in asset quality and poor NPA management was not reflected across all bank groups and PSBs share a disproportionate and increasing burden in case of NPAs among the bank groups and divergence among banks in the same group