New Delhi : Tightening the noose around wilful defaulters, the government has asked banks to ‘name and shame’ such borrowers by publishing their photographs and other details in newspapers.
The finance ministry has written a letter to all state-run banks directing them to take board approvals for publication of photographs of such defaulters. Sources said, “Lending institutions shall formulate a policy with the approval of their board of directors which clearly set out the criteria for publication of photographs of wilful defaulters.”
The number of wilful defaulters, who did not repay loans to public sector banks despite the capacity to do so, rose to 9,063 at the end of December 2017. The amount involved for PSBs is reported as Rs 1,10,050 crore, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla had said.
The government last week directed banks to seek passport details of borrowers taking loans of Rs 50 crore and more. Passport details will help banks to take timely action and inform the relevant authorities to prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country. “Next step in clean and responsible banking. Passport details must for loans above Rs 50 crore. Step to ensure quick response in case of fraud,” Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar had said.