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Sending a strong signal against Kerala’s corporate defaulters, old generation private sector banks in the State are taking the lead to recover dues under the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act.
While Kochi-based Federal Bank has started attaching properties by taking over possession of a three-star hotel — The Pepper Vine at Thekkady — the employees and retirees of the Thrissur-based Catholic Syrian Bank have launched an initiative to carry out various forms of protest before the premises of several defaulters requesting them to repay the dues. CSB employees, starting tomorrow (February 9), will be forming small voluntary groups to stage silent dharna s outside the office/residential premises of defaulters, PV Surendranath, DGM and Zonal Manager, CSB, said.
In the first phase, more than 20 locations have been identified in Kerala for the movement. “This is going to be an ongoing process, especially with wilful defaulters and those who are using various legal loopholes to avoid payment of debts. Similar activities being planned in other States as well”, he said.
TA Mohammed Sageer, Assistant General Manager, Federal Bank, said that the decision to attach properties under the Sarfesi Act comes in the wake of the Pepper Vine defaulting on its loan liability of ₹11 crore. The bank had earlier taken possession of a five-star hotel — The Elephant Court, Thekkady — for defaulting on more than ₹25 crore.
According to him, repeated action from the bank against defaulters has gained widespread appreciation and is a strong message to big corporate defaulters who unnecessarily drag banks to court for the recovery actions.
However, the CSB employee movement comes in the wake of the support sought by the management from employees across rank and file for speeding up recovery after identifying NPA (non-performing assets) and prevention of slippages.
Many of the defaulters are people who enjoyed high social status, had the capacity to pay and were leading a luxurious life, Surendranath said.
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