Reconsider move to cancel Reliance Communications (RCOM) spectrum license: State Bank of India to Department of Telecommunications (DoT)

NEW DELHI, July 26: Lending major State Bank of India (SBI) has written to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to reconsider its move to cancel Reliance Communications (RCOM) spectrum license.

The request for reconsideration was made via a letter dated July 23 sent by SBI’s Chairman Rajnish Kumar to Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan. The banking major leads the Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) which has the maximum lending exposure to the company. As per Kumar’s letter, cancellation of RCOM spectrum will lead to irreparable financial harm to SBI and many other PSU banks.

“We understand from Reliance Communications and Reliance Telecom that Department of Telecommunications appears to be contemplating revocation of spectrum allocated to both the companies due to non-submission of Bank Guarantees (BGs) that is to be submitted by the companies on expiry of earlier BGs given by them while bidding and securing license for the allocated spectrum,” Kumar said.

“State Bank of India, as part of consortium of banks, are lenders to the above companies and the loans and advances extended by us or consortium of banks are secured by charged hypothecation or mortgage or assignment of assets of above companies in favour of us or consortium of banks.” Kumar informed Sundararajan, that accounts of the above companies became NPA in the consortium’s “books and we along with other lenders had initiated debt resolution plans and assets monetisation plans to recover our dues”. (IANS)