RECOVERS JUST RS 9,946 CR; WITHHOLDS NAMES OF DEFAULTERS UNDER RTI
NEW DELHI, AUG 20 (AGENCIES): State-run Bank of Baroda (BoB) has technically written off loans worth Rs 35,715 crore involving borrowers with outstanding dues of Rs 100 crore and above during FY21 to FY26, while recovering Rs 9,946 crore, or about 28%, from such accounts. The bank, however, refused to disclose the names of the large borrowers, citing exemptions under the RTI Act.
According to The Wire report, the figures were disclosed in response to an RTI application filed by Pune-based activist Vivek Velankar. BoB’s reply, dated July 30, 2026, showed that the largest write-offs were recorded in FY21 and FY22 at Rs 11,916 crore and Rs 11,261 crore, respectively.
The bank clarified that the figures represented “technical write-offs”, meaning the loans were removed from its books for accounting purposes, without necessarily ending recovery efforts.
The RTI reply also showed that BoB reported Rs 7,817 crore in write-offs or “haircuts” while settling loans above Rs 100 crore through NCLT or other forums during FY21-FY26. The highest haircut was recorded in FY22 at Rs 3,132 crore, followed by Rs 2,331 crore in FY21 and Rs 1,831 crore in FY23.
Velankar questioned the scale of write-offs and recoveries, saying large borrowers had effectively resulted in thousands of crores being forgone while their identities remained protected.
He had specifically sought the names of borrowers whose loans above Rs 100 crore were technically written off, along with account-wise amounts. BoB rejected the request, citing Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which covers personal and third-party information. For borrowers whose accounts were settled with haircuts, the bank cited Sections 8(1)(d), 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j). The bank therefore disclosed aggregate figures but withheld borrower-wise details behind the Rs 35,715 crore technical write-offs and Rs 7,817 crore haircut figure.
BoB also said some information sought was not readily available in the requested form and that compiling it would disproportionately divert resources under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act. It nevertheless provided available year-wise figures from FY21 onwards.
Velankar questioned why large borrowers remain unidentified while smaller borrowers often face public recovery action. He also raised questions over accountability for those who sanctioned and managed the large loans.
The RTI response, however, does not establish whether any particular loan was sanctioned recklessly, whether any borrower was a wilful defaulter, or whether bank officials faced disciplinary or legal action. Such conclusions cannot be drawn from the disclosed figures.
Overall, the figures show that against Rs 35,715 crore in technical write-offs involving accounts above Rs 100 crore during FY21-FY26, BoB recovered Rs 9,946 crore, while separately reporting Rs 7,817 crore in write-offs/haircuts linked to settlements.