ICICI Bank on Tuesday confirmed that it has an exposure to Singapore-based oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading (HLT), which has filed for bankruptcy.
The exposure of the private sector lender to the firm has been doing the rounds since Monday, putting its shares under pressure. In Tuesday’s trading, the ICICI Bank counter slipped more than 8 per cent on the news.
On the BSE, the ICICI Bank scrip settled at Rs 331.55 — a drop of Rs 29.95, or 8.28 per cent.
In a clarification to the stock exchanges, ICICI Bank confirmed reports regarding its exposure to the Singapore- based group.
“We confirm that the bank, in the normal course of its business, has exposure to the borrower group in question... The bank is taking due steps to protect its interests and will appropriately reflect the same in its financial statements, as it would do in respect of all its banking exposures,’’ ICICI Bank said in the regulatory filing which was made during market hours.
While ICICI Bank did not specify the amount of exposure, reports say it has lent $100 million to the trader. A Reuters report said ICICI Bank is looking to impound two vessels operated by Ocean Tankers, a subsidiary of HLT.
The private sector lender is yet to declare numbers for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2020. However, in the December quarter, standalone net profit had zoomed 158 per cent because of lower provisions following the resolution at Essar Steel.
It had posted a net profit of Rs 4,146 crore for the quarter compared with Rs 1,605 crore in the year-ago quarter.
This came as provisions declined 51 per cent to Rs 2,083 crore from Rs 4,244 crore in the year-ago period.