Private banks write off nearly half of NPAs in FY26, outpace PSBs

Private sector banks wrote off 49.7% of their NPAs in FY26, significantly outpacing public sector banks at 24.3% and foreign banks at 39.6%, with total banking sector write-offs at 33.2% or at least Rs 1.28 lakh crore. Public sector lenders, which control 54.4% of total banking advances of Rs 213.6 lakh crore, account for 63.2% of total bad loans, while private banks' higher write-offs are attributed to exposure in microfinance, credit cards, personal loans, and unsecured business loans. The sectoral NPA ratio has fallen to a multi-decadal low of 1.8% (Rs 3.85 lakh crore), down from a GNPA ratio of 7.3% in March 2021.