Mumbai: The
National Housing Bank (NHB) and the
ANZ Banking Group, the two warring parties, are likely to settle
their issues relating to the famous securities scandal of 1992
outside the court. The process is likely to catch speed once NHB
chairman Sekhar Agarwal returns to India.
These are,
however, mere speculations and no party is willing to give an
official version to the possibility. Chances of an amicable
settlement caught on after the Supreme Court advised both the
parties to try and settle their differences outside the court. It
said that large public monies were involved in the matter and
court proceedings could take longer to finish than envisaged.
If the case
goes NHBs favour, ANZ will be required to pay Rs 1,552 crore to
NHB. But if the case is won by the ANZ, NHB will have to pay more
than Rs 600 crore. It has already made provisions to the extent of
Rs 600 crore in its books. NHB had paid Rs 912 crore to ANZ in
March 1997, after it lost a ruling made by an arbitration panel in
the case.
The two
parties had, in fact, initiated out-of-court settlement
proceedings in December 2000 and NHB had also constituted a panel
to talk on its behalf. However, not much headway could be made, as
the countrys financial sector went through a torrid time in the
current year, putting the entire process in jeopardy.
The
committee set up by NHB comprised former NHB chairman P P Vora,
LIC chairman G N Bajpai and former RBI governor Jagdish Capoor.
The panel also held a series of meetings with ANZ Banking Group MD
Elmer Funke Kuppe.
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