Piyush Goyal says government committed to support all state banks

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India’s interim finance minister said on Friday that the government was committed to support all state-run banks and strengthen their operations, after several lenders reported a jump in net losses earlier this month.

“The government stands committed to support all 21 Public sector banks,” Piyush Goyal told reporters after a meeting with bank chiefs.

Indian banks, already burdened by a near-record 9.5 trillion rupees ($141 billion) of soured loans as of last year, reported a further rise in bad loans in the March quarter after the Reserve Bank of India withdrew half a dozen loan-restructuring schemes and tightened some rules in February.

($1 = 67.5000 Indian rupees)