At a press conference on Tuesday, 26 April, after declaring the fourth quarter earnings for financial year (FY) 2015-16, Rajiv Lall, chief executive officer of IDFC Bank Ltd, interrupted his chief financial officer to make a point. The bank had just reported a jump in gross non-performing assets (NPAs) to 6.16% from 3.09% in the previous quarter. The question was on this surge in bad loans. Television channels were running tickers saying “Asset quality worsens”. Lall interjected. “An increase in the gross NPA number doesn’t mean that asset quality has worsened. We have provided for all these bad loans. So asset quality is actually improving,” said Lall.
