Indian banks wrote off ₹12L crore in loans—here's what that means

Business Jul 22, 2025

Over the last 10 years, public sector banks in India have written off a massive ₹12.08 lakh crore in loans, according to Finance Minister Pankaj Chaudhary.
But don't get it twisted—these write-offs follow RBI guidelines and don't let borrowers off the hook for paying back what they owe.

SBI tops the list, but recovery efforts continue

State Bank of India leads with ₹1.14 lakh crore in write-offs, with Union Bank and Punjab National Bank close behind.
Most of these are from non-performing assets (loans unpaid for 90+ days).
As Chaudhary explained, "write-off" is just an accounting move—banks are still chasing down repayments through legal channels like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and Debt Recovery Tribunals.