Bank of Baroda pays $600 million to settle NMC Health litigation

Mumbai: State-owned Bank of Baroda has paid $600 million (about ₹5,700 crore) in an out-of-court settlement to resolve years-long litigation linked to the collapse of UAE-based healthcare provider NMC Health, the lender said in an exchange filing on Thursday.

The bank's Abu Dhabi branch has completed the payment under a settlement agreement reached with the joint administrators of NMC Health PLC, NMC Healthcare Ltd and NMC Holding Ltd.

The settlement resolves all claims between the parties without any admission of liability or wrongdoing by the bank, according to the filing. Apart from the settlement amount, the terms of the agreement remain confidential.

The bank's shares tumbled on Thursday following the news. They ended over 4.3% lower on the National Stock Exchange at ₹259.85 apiece in a positive market.

“NMC Health PLC, NMC Healthcare Ltd, NMC Holding Ltd, and their respective Joint Administrators, have resolved the claims between them and the Bank of Baroda in consideration for, inter alia, payment by Bank of Baroda of US$600 million, pursuant to a settlement agreement,” the bank said.

The litigation stemmed from insolvency and civil proceedings initiated before the Abu Dhabi Global Market Court of First Instance and the High Court of Justice of England & Wales in relation to NMC Health and its group companies. The Abu Dhabi proceedings had commenced trial on 23 March, while the English proceedings had been stayed pending the outcome of the Abu Dhabi case.

Following the settlement, the proceedings before the Abu Dhabi court have been discontinued, while the English proceedings are in the process of being withdrawn, according to the filing.

The bank said the settlement was aimed at bringing the disputes to a close and avoiding prolonged litigation and the uncertainty and costs associated with it.

“The above settlement is to bring the disputes to conclusion thereby avoiding prolonged litigation, uncertainty and associated cost,” the lender said.

For the quarter ended March, asset quality of the state-owned bank had improved with its gross non-performing assets ratio falling to 1.89% from 2.04% a quarter ago. Net NPA ratio also improved to 0.45% as of March-end, down from 0.57% in the December quarter.