India's largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI) has identified some properties of
cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines for attachment.
SBI is the lead banker in the 17-lender consortium to Vijay
Mallya's ailing carrier.
It was reported in 2012 that lenders to debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines were considering selling the carrier's two properties in Mumbai and Goa, worth Rs 120 crore, to recover part of the loans worth over Rs 7,500 crore.
"Efforts are afoot to make some recoveries. Already certain properties have been identified towards attachment by the bank as against loans disbursed to the airline. Allocations have been made in the bank's NPA which stood at (around) Rs 22,000 crore as of December 2012," SBI MD and Group Executive (National Banking) A Krishnakumar said.
A sub-committee has also been formed, involving about four banks to examine availability of
assets of the borrower and will also solicit needful legal advisors before the next stage of opting for litigation, he said.
On the PSU bank's efforts to improve services, Krishnakumar said SBI is inducting about 1,200 staff this year itself and plans to impart adequate training to the staff.
With over 40 per cent of the staff leaving SBI due to super annuation in the next three to four years, the PSU bank has already initiated a recruitment drive.
At present, the bank's headcount is around 2.2 lakh, Krishnakumar said.
The bank's customer base is expected to surpass 230 million, he added, saying SBI hopes to expand it to 250 million before year-end.
Krishnakumar also said efforts are on to increase technology deployment.
SBI has 25,000 ATMs, which was being ramped up at a significant pace. In a couple of years, all branches will have onsite ATMs.
Over 600 cash depositing machines have been installed and the number is expected to increase to around 4,000 in 2014 and to 5,000 CDMs by end of 2014.
With inputs from PTI
PHOTO: AP 
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