State-run Bank of Baroda (BoB) has written off loans worth ₹35,715 crore belonging to borrowers with outstanding loans of ₹100 crore and above over the six financial years from FY20-21 to FY25-26, while cumulative recovery of less than 28% from these accounts is at ₹9,946 crore. However, BoB, yet again, refused to disclose the names of the large borrowers whose loans were technically written off or whose accounts were settled after haircuts, citing exemptions under the RTI Act.
The figures, disclosed by the Bank in response to an RTI application filed by Pune-based activist Vivek Velankar, also show that BoB reported ₹7,817 crore as the amount written off as a haircut while settling loans of borrowers with dues above ₹100 crore from FY20-21 to FY25-26.
₹35,715 Crore Written Off
BoB's RTI reply, dated 30 July 2026, was issued in response to Mr Velankar's application dated 21 June 2026. The Bank provided year-wise figures for write-offs involving loan accounts of ₹100 crore and above.
BoB reported the following technical write-offs:
The largest write-offs were recorded in FY20-21 and FY21-22, when ₹11,916 crore and ₹11,261 crore, respectively, were technically written off.
The Bank's reply specifically describes the figures as 'technical write-off', meaning the amounts have been written off from the Bank's books for accounting purposes. A technical write-off does not by itself mean that the Bank has stopped pursuing recovery.
Only ₹9,946 Crore Recovered
Despite the ₹35,715 crore in technical write-offs involving accounts above ₹100 crore, BoB disclosed cumulative recovery of ₹9,946 crore from such accounts.
The year-wise recovery figures supplied by the Bank are:
The cumulative recovery is equivalent to about 28% of the ₹35,715 crore technically written off over the period covered by the figures.
Mr Velankar said the numbers were particularly concerning because the loans involved borrowers with dues of more than ₹100 crore.
"The reply I received has been deeply shocking," he said, pointing out that Bank of Baroda had written off ₹35,715 crore in loans involving large borrowers while recovering only ₹9,946 crore.
₹7,817 Crore Haircut in Settlements
The RTI application also sought details of large loan accounts settled through the national company law tribunal (NCLT) or other forums after accepting a haircut, including the loan amount and the haircut agreed to settle the loans.
In response, BoB declined to provide borrower-wise information, but disclosed an aggregate figure for the period from FY20-21 to FY25-26.
According to the reply, the amount of haircut — described by the bank as the write-off amount taken by the bank to settle loans — involving technically written-off accounts above ₹100 crore is:
The highest amount was recorded in FY21-22 at ₹3,132 crore, followed by ₹2,331 crore in FY20-21 and ₹1,831 crore in FY22-23.
Mr Velankar said this meant Bank of Baroda had effectively forgone thousands of crores while settling large loan accounts.
"It must be noted that these cases were filed before the NCLT precisely to recover money from wilful defaulters. The bank ultimately had to waive thousands of crores in the process — and yet it continues to shield the identities of these very defaulters," he said.
Bank Refuses To Disclose Names
The most contentious aspect of the RTI reply is the BoB's refusal to provide the names of the borrowers.
Mr Velankar had specifically sought the names of loan takers whose loans above ₹100 crore were technically written off during the relevant financial years, along with the amount written off.
BoBaroda rejected the request, saying the information was personal in nature and related to third-party information and that disclosure would cause an unwarranted invasion of privacy. It cited Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005.
For the request concerning borrowers whose loans were settled through NCLT or similar forums by accepting haircuts, the bank again refused borrower-wise details, citing exemptions under Sections 8(1)(d), 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.
Thus, while the Bank disclosed the aggregate figures, it did not provide the names of the borrowers or account-wise details that would identify the cases behind the ₹35,715 crore technical write-offs and ₹7,817 crore haircut figure.
Data Begins from FY20-21 despite Wider RTI Query
The RTI application sought information covering a longer period. However, the Bank's disclosed year-wise figures for technical write-offs, recoveries and haircuts begin from FY20-21.
For the technical write-off and recovery queries, BoB said the information sought is not readily available in the requested form and that compiling and collating it would disproportionately divert resources under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.
It, nevertheless, provided the aggregate and year-wise figures available for accounts of ₹100 crore and above from FY20-21 onwards.
Similarly, for the haircut-related query, the Bank provided figures from FY20-21 to FY25-26 rather than borrower-wise information for the entire period sought.
Questions over Accountability
Mr Velankar has questioned why large borrowers whose accounts result in substantial losses for banks should remain unidentified while small borrowers often face public recovery action.
"Banks that are quick to publicly shame small borrowers — publishing their names and addresses in newspapers and auctioning their homes and properties to recover relatively modest sums — adopt a soft, accommodating stance when it comes to large borrowers," he said.
He also questioned the absence of accountability for those responsible for sanctioning and managing the large loans.
"What makes this even more troubling is that the board of directors responsible for sanctioning these large loans so recklessly in the first place, for failing to recover them after write-off, and for settling cases by foregoing thousands of crores through haircuts, faces absolutely no accountability or action whatsoever," Mr Velankar, who is also president of Sajag Nagrik Manch, said.
The RTI response, however, does not provide information establishing whether any particular loan was sanctioned recklessly, whether a borrower was a wilful defaulter, or whether any bank official or director faced disciplinary or legal action. Those aspects, therefore, cannot be inferred from the figures disclosed in the reply.
The figures nevertheless highlight the scale of loan losses involving large borrower accounts at BoB. Against ₹35,715 crore in technical write-offs reported for accounts above ₹100 crore between FY20-21 and FY25-26, the Bank disclosed recovery of ₹9,946 crore, while separately reporting ₹7,817 crore in write-offs/haircuts associated with settlement of such accounts.
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