concerns, challenges persist. role of ibc in cleaning up of bank balance sheets as you are aware, asset quality position of the banking system has shown a remarkable improvement over the past few years a€ “ specifically, the gross npas of the scheduled commercial banks have declined from the peak of 11. 2 % in march 2018 to 2. 8 % in march 20241. a good part of that reduction is attributable to resolution processes enabled under ibc. if an overall assessment of ibc is made, it shows a significant level of traction as a resolution mechanism. as of september 2024, 8, 002 cases2 have been 1 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches admitted into the corporate insolvency resolution process ( cirp ) and approximately 75 % of these cases were closed through resolution, withdrawal, review, settlement, or liquidation. of the closed cases, 56 % were either resolved, settled, or withdrawn. in a positive trend, the ratio of resolutions to liquidations has risen from 21 % in 2017 - 18 to 61 % in 2023 - 24. in addition to facilitating resolution outcomes, the ibc has also been effectively used by both financial and operational creditors to encourage borrowers to repay their debts. by march 2024, 28, 818 cases involving an outstanding default amount of 10. 22 lakh crore were withdrawn prior to admission. in terms of the powers vested under newly inserted section 35aa of the banking regulation act, rbi had issued directions to banks in 2017 in respect of 41 entities, which accounted for more than 35 % of the banking system npas at that point, for filing cirp applications. so far, resolution plan has been approved in the case of 17 borrowers3, orders of liquidation have been issued in the case of 12 borrowers, settlement was reached by lenders with 2 borrowers ; and in 4 cases the lenders have assigned their exposures to arcs. the aggregate realisation for financial creditors from the 17 resolved cases has been around 50 % of admitted claims and 190 % of liquidation value. financial creditors are now actively leveraging the code for resolution of stressed assets. as of september 2024, around 633 corporate debtors, where insolvency application was initiated by financial creditors, have been successfully resolved under ibc, yielding an average realization of 30. 09 % of admitted claims. further, cirp applications filed by financial creditors in 702 corporate debtor accounts have been either resolved through appeal

, sound debt markets dominated by public issues are in place, banks could proceed with such financing, especially at the shorter end. it is very satisfying to see some serious effort to improve financing of priority sector - a less fashionable, but more legitimate area for banks. governance aspects covered in the third section are somewhat tricky to be handled for several reasons, but some of the distinguished speakers seem to have made telling points such as the need for arms - length to be maintained by owners with the board, and the fact that best corporate governance exists when ownership is widely distributed. i wonder government is treated as a single owner for this purpose!. there appears to be some broad consensus on reform in this area. first, effective corporate governance arises out of responsible and vigilant simultaneous actions by the managers, the board of directors and the shareholders of a company. second, the essence of corporate governance relates to a system in which the interests of the whole gamut of stakeholders of an organisation are recognised and conflicts among them are sought to be reconciled. third, indian banks will have to enhance the transparency of their operations and make greater disclosures to the public to attain international standards of corporate governance. fourth, one may expect to see governance rating of institutions along the lines of credit rating. some issues relating to cooperative banks, especially urban cooperative banks have been discussed, particularly on regulatory matters relating to access to capital funds from the capital market, lending rate stipulations, evolution of a credit rating system, giving a level - playing field with commercial banks, etc. a significant point raised though perhaps not debated extensively relates to the conflicts of interests among various stake holders. it is heartening to note that a paradigm shift in banking recognises the need for resolving the complexities of cooperative banks, especially urban cooperative banks, regional rural banks and perhaps local area banks. critical to appreciating these issues is perhaps the appropriate framework of corporate governance for institutions, which are under the cooperative fold at their current stage of legal and regulatory framework. it is also interesting to note that public sector banks have made legitimate points about the level - playing field and the need to consider public sector banks fully owned by the government and others where there is shareholding by public. the external constraints imposed on them, the restrictions on internal consolidation due to work practices need to be addressed in any debate on paradigm shift, while the distinction between fully - owned and others is critical to issues relating to corporate governance. the broader issue of the case for or against