"A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NON-PERFORMING ASSETS IN NATIONALISED BANKS"

Abstract

This study presents a comparative analysis of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in ten selected nationalised banks in India — State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, UCO Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank — over the five-year period 2021–2025. The study is descriptive and comparative in nature and is based on secondary data drawn from the annual reports of the selected banks, Reserve Bank of India publications, Ministry of Finance reports, and other published financial sources. Key indicators — Gross NPA Ratio, Net NPA Ratio, Gross NPAs, Net NPAs, Gross Advances, Net Profit, Return on Assets, and Provision Coverage Ratio — are used to evaluate the asset quality, profitability, and provisioning strength of the selected banks for the terminal year of the study period, and the banks are ranked on the basis of their overall comparative performance. The results show that Bank of Maharashtra and State Bank of India recorded the strongest overall performance, combining the lowest Gross and Net NPA ratios with the highest Return on Assets and Provision Coverage Ratios, while Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank recorded the weakest asset-quality and profitability indicators among the selected banks. The study concludes that a combination of Gross NPA Ratio, Net NPA Ratio, Return on Assets, and Provision Coverage Ratio provides a more complete basis for evaluating the financial health of nationalised banks than any single indicator considered in isolation, and that continuous credit monitoring, timely recovery, and prudent lending practices remain central to sustaining improvements in asset quality. Keywords: Non-Performing Assets, Nationalised Banks, Gross NPA, Net NPA, Provision Coverage Ratio, Return on Assets, Credit Risk.