Identifying Key Drivers of Non-Performing Assets in Indian Public Sector Banks: A Panel Data Analysis

The present study strives to identify the major factors influencing the non-performing assets (NPAs) of public sector banks (PSBs) in India using a panel dataset comprising of 26 PSBs over the period 1999-2000 to 2015-16. The results reveal that business per employee, operating inefficiency, priority sector lending, inflation and real interest rate have a significant positive influence on increasing NPAs of banks while credit orientation, higher capital adequacy, net interest margin, non-interest income, GDP growth, and financial intermediation are found to exert a significant favourable effect of lowering NPAs of banks. Most interestingly, the study also shows that the level of corruption and the rule of law significantly impacted the NPAs of Indian banks during the period under study.