The Rs.12,968-crore-fraud at PNB has once again highlighted the frailty of PSU banks’ risk-management systems. The banking system is already creaking under the weight of NPAs of Rs.730,000 crore and panicked investors lost no time in pronouncing their verdict. The stock price of PNB has corrected 33% and the Nifty PSU Bank Index has also fallen 11% in wake of the scam. Among large PSU banks, SBI has corrected 12.6%, while Bank of Baroda is down 14.7%. After the pounding, most PSU banks now trade at 10-30% discount to their book value (see: Ragtag bunch). However, Abhimanyu Sofat, VP – research, IIFL, says that the current beaten valuations are not what one should be looking at as the quality of the book itself remains uncertain. “RBI, through its new norms, is pushing banks to quickly recognise stress in their books, via a resolution plan or by referring the stressed no-resolution accounts for bankruptcy proceedings. Even though some PSU banks are trading at half their book value, it is difficult to guess how the books will look in light of the new NPA norms,” he adds.
Feature
Picking those with the least holes
The PNB-fraud has dimmed investor perception about PSU banks, but selective bottom-fishing continues in SBI and Bank of Baroda
Editor's Pick
Most Popular
Summer wine and salad
Kishore Singh - January 19, 2015
A double topping for growth
Meghna Maiti - January 15, 2015
Scriptures for success
Kripa Mahalingam - January 27, 2015
The million-dollar question: Is investing a game of luck or skill?
Shankar Sharma - May 04, 2021
Where's the party tonight?
Aditi Saxena - January 27, 2015