Bandhan Bank issues clarification on audit, says loan claims under audit by govt agency

In a stock exchange filing, private lender Bandhan Bank said that the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company is undertaking an audit of the loan claims filed by the bank under a guarantee scheme. However, the bank clarified that the regulator has not initiated an audit of the bank, but only the CGFMU claim pertaining to the portfolio.

Following the clarification, Bandhan Bank's stock price rose by as much as 3.17 per cent before giving up part of those gains. Shares dipped 7.39 per cent on Monday due to media coverage of the audit.

Bandhan Bank had applied for a second tranche of around Rs 1,290 crore after receiving the first tranche of recovery from the Credit Guarantee Fund of Micro Units (CGFMU), which is a government trust fund that ensures payment against default for microloans extended to eligible small borrowers.

The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) conducted a preliminary sample audit on the application, the bank said.

Based on the findings of the preliminary audit, the bank said it has given detailed explanations coupled with the process followed in support of the claim made by the bank to the NCGTC.

"NCGTC has further decided to conduct a detailed audit for the CGFMU portfolio of FY 2020-21, and the same has been intimated to the Bank. We would further like to clarify that this is not an audit of the Bank initiated by the regulator," the bank said in its statement.

Bandhan Bank said it is confident of recovering the claim amount.

Bandhan Bank said that loans increased by 18.6 per cent on an annual basis for the October through December period, while deposits increased by 14.8%.