IDBI Bank has asked Kingfisher Airlines to repay loans worth Rs 900 crores after the latter failed to stick to its repayment schedule, a newspaper reported today. IDBI Bank has recalled short-term loans worth Rs 150 crores and Rs 750 crores in long-term loans and asked the carrier to do so by the middle of this week, the paper said on Monday.
The lender might invoke guarantees by holding firm United Breweries Holding and by the promoter Vijay Mallya if Kingfisher fails to make payment by the stipulated time, a letter from the bank said. The contents of the letter were described to the paper by people with access to it, the report said.
However, Mallya denied the development to the paper. "The loan was given by a consortium led by SBI. So far, there is no problem. The information that IDBI is recalling the loan is incorrect," he was quoted as saying.
When contacted by Reuters, officials at both IDBI and Kingfisher declined to comment immediately. Kingfisher has borrowed around Rs 3000 crore from several banks, such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank and has appointed SBI Capital Markets to restructure these loans, the paper said.
