New Delhi: FICCI has expressed its concern over the recent arrest of a senior banker of a leading public sector bank. Commenting on the incident, Uday Shankar, President, FICCI, said: “This is an alarming development and could seriously undermine the resolve of the members of the banking fraternity to move ahead with the recovery process for loans where there has been a default.”

“There are clear guidelines that are in place for recovery of bad debts and sale of assets to ARCs. Financial decisions such as lending, and sale of assets are undertaken following strict due-diligence norms and developments like these do not augur well for resolution of the NPAs in the banking system as any decision taken can be questioned at any point of time.”

“FICCI would urge the government to ensure that legitimate business decisions by bankers are not questioned in hindsight and bank employees are empowered to take decisions fearlessly to avoid paralysis in decision making, which can seriously hamper credit growth,” added Shankar.

“The government has brought in a series of policy and procedural reforms that have ushered in greater transparency in decision making by public servants. For a country that aspires to be amongst the fastest growing economies in the world, the speed of decision making and execution in all spheres of economy is imperative.”

“Any development that impinges on this, calls for introspection and corrective action by the authorities. Public servants need to be offered a conducive environment to discharge their duties and decisions taken in good faith and following the due process, should not be called into question later,” said Shankar.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often underlined the need for speed and efficiency in decision making. Our government is also committed to encouraging honest decision making with good intentions. A robust legislative system that protects decision makers and public servants would help us move forward in our journey towards making India a US$ 5 trillion economy,” added Shankar. /BI/