For Canara Bank, Amitabh is a performing asset now

For Canara Bank, Amitabh is a performing asset now
DEV CHATTERJEE

MUMBAI, NOV 22: From non-performing asset to a performing asset, former movie super star and TV anchor, Amitabh Bachchan has come a full circle for the government-owned, Canara Bank. The bank was in the hot seat ever since it lent a Rs 10-crore debt to Bachchan's jinxed venture AB Corp (formerly ABCL Ltd) but now thanks to the success of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), it has finally struck a deal which will see the resurgent Shahenshah getting out of the clutches of Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) fold.

With this out-of-court settlement, Bachchan and Canara Bank have decided to bury the hatchet as Bachchan paid back the entire loan granted by the bank.The money has been paid back in installments to the bank since September this year.

``Yes, we have received the whole amount in installments from Mr Bachchan... all the cases which we have filed in various courts and the BIFR against him have been dropped. The case is closed for us now,'' said Nishit Dhruva, counsellor for Canara Bank.

Helping Bachchan with his financial restructuring were some of the big names in the Indian trade and industry. Stock broker, Ketan Parekh, politician Amar Singh, Sahara group Chairman Subroto Roy and industrialist Anil Ambani are few of the close friends who advised the mega star.

In 1999, Canara Bank had moved Mumbai high court against the actor as his company defaulted on the loan. As Bachchan and his wife, Jaya were guarantors to the loan, the bank targeted their personal assets to get back its money. In order to avoid paying back the loans, AB Corp declared itself sick and went to BIFR.

Though Canara Bank sought to attach Bachchan's bungalow, the Lal Badshah who was in red till he got the KBC offer, but could not because it was already mortgaged with Sahara Group. However, the bank had attached a large apartment owned by Bachchan in Juhu. But then came Star TV's KBC and though AB Corp had told the BIFR that it would pay back Canara Bank in seven years, the KBC windfall has resulted in Bachchan clearing his dues before the self-imposed deadline.

Bachchan has recently re-negotiated his deal with Star TV for doing more than 130 episodes of the show for an astronomical Rs 65 crore and is also talking with other creditors of AB Corp to return their funds. Bachchan also signed a Rs 10-crore deal with term-lending instituion, ICICI to endorse the latter's brand.