IOB reports 1st loss in 21 years

CHENNAI: A day after Indian Overseas Bank reported a net loss of Rs 245.5 crore for the quarter-ended September, the government admitted that there was a “problem” at the Chennai-headquartered bank.
The state-run lender slipped into the red for the first time in almost 21 years. Increased provisions resulted in bank reporting a loss of over Rs 245 crore during the second quarter of the current financial year, compared with a profit of Rs 132 crore a year ago.
IOB had last reported a loss in 1992-93 when the new prudential norms had resulted in losses of Rs 752 crore. While several state-run banks are under pressure, in recent years only United Bank of India has reported a quarterly loss on account of bad debt but has since recovered.