Corporation Bank is aiming for a zero bad loans portfolio during this financial year, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Ramnath Pradeep, has said. Currently, the net non-performing asset (NPA), as a percentage of advances, is at about 0.47 per cent.

Mr Pradeep also sees the possibility of NPAs on education loans, and said this segment had turned “vulnerable” in recent years.

Mr Pradeep denied charges made against him by the Central Vigilance Commission over violation of lending norms at Corporation Bank.

“I am ready with the response which I can give to the Finance Ministry today itself. These are all professional hazards that one faces everyday as a banker,” he said in New Delhi on the sidelines of a meeting jointly organised by Corporation Bank and Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PHDCCI).

He had assumed charge as Corporation Bank's Chairman and Managing Director in September 2010 and is due to retire on September 30 this year.

The charges levelled against him mainly relate to irregularities in extending advances, sources said.

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