Bhushan Steel lenders to take a call on course of action soon

NEW DELHI: Lenders to Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL) will decide their future course of action in the next few days after the Supreme Court scrapped the company's takeover by JSW under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, pointing to several irregularities."The matter is still under consideration. We will decide how things have to be taken up further. In another three-four days things will come out," Punjab National Bank MD & CEO Ashok Chandra told reporters after announcing the company's March quarter results.The state-run lender, which received around Rs 3,000 crore from the BPSL, transaction has not provided for any hit in the last quarter, when it reported a 52% jump in net profit to Rs 4,567 crore, buoyed by robust business growth and recovery.Chandra attributed profit growth to overall business expansion, recovery in technically written off accounts and treasury income, among others. During the current fiscal year, PNB is budgeting for 11-12% credit growth, with a 9-10% rise in the corporate loan book. Deposit growth is expected to be in the range of 9-10%.The bank intends to add another 200 branches during the financial year and recruit 3,000 staff and officers, Chandra said. PNB board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.9 per equity share of face value of Rs 2 each for 2024-25 subject to shareholder approval.