Indian Bank is focusing on a massive cleaning of its books this year. The Chennai-based public sector bank wants to recover between ₹4,500 crore and ₹5,500 crore from bad loans (loans where people have stopped paying) in the 2026-27 financial year. The bank’s Managing Director and CEO, Binod Kumar, shared that they have already recovered ₹1,885 crore in the first quarter alone. This shows the bank is serious about reducing its NPA (non-performing assets) levels.

A significant part of this recovery will come from big corporate cases. The bank expects to get ₹500 crore from cases currently sitting with the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal), which is the special court that handles company bankruptcy. By resolving these old cases, the bank can improve its profits and strengthen its balance sheet. This is good news for staff as it reduces the pressure of high stressed assets on the branch books.

Apart from recovering money, the bank is also looking for fresh deposits in foreign currency. Binod Kumar plans to raise about $2 billion through FCNR (B) deposits (Foreign Currency Non-Resident accounts) by September. Currently, they have already collected $140 million and have a pipeline for $1 billion more. This move is part of a larger plan to bring in stable foreign money to strengthen the bank’s resources.

To make this happen, the bank is offering attractive interest rates between 5.5% and 6.5%. This follows the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to remove interest rate limits on these deposits for a short time. The RBI did this because foreign money flowing into India had slowed down lately. Indian Bank is now reaching out to NRIs and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin) to take advantage of this temporary window which stays open until September 30.

There is also a big push for CASA (Current Account and Savings Account) deposits, which are the cheapest sources of funds for any bank officer. Indian Bank’s CASA grew by over 15% in the first quarter, reaching nearly ₹3.20 lakh crore. The goal is to make sure CASA accounts for 40% of all total deposits very soon. For bank employees, this means a continued focus on bringing in low-cost savings and current accounts from the local public.

The bank has seen a huge jump in the average balance of its accounts too. Typical savings account balances have doubled to ₹53,000, while current account balances rose from ₹1.36 lakh to ₹1.90 lakh. This suggests that existing customers are keeping more money with the bank. Additionally, the bank successfully revived 17 lakh inoperative accounts (accounts that were silent for a long time), which added nearly ₹1,470 crore to the deposit pile.

Bankers should watch out for more recovery drives and NRI outreach programs in the coming months. With the RBI’s deadline of September 30 approaching for the FCNR (B) benefits, the next few weeks will be very busy. Success in these areas will likely lead to better performance ratings for the bank and a more stable financial position for the future.