It is also significant to note that the asset quality of public sector banks has been better than private sector banks – both old and new – in terms of net NPL (i.e., net of provisioning). The financial performance of SCBs had also improved during the recent past as reflected in their profitability.
At some stage down the track, this is likely to result in disappointment for many and distress for some – hence we had a duty to speak up. More generally, however, there is a very large accumulation of wealth which remains, as yet, untapped. One of the important questions is to what extent households will be inclined to draw on this in the future.