India’s banking system is grappling with the fallout from a large web of loans extended to companies linked to industrialist Anil Ambani, with records indicating that at least 13 banks collectively sanctioned around 70 loans to his firms. Many of these loans have since turned into defaults, triggering insolvency proceedings, asset attachments, and legal challenges over recovery.
Data compiled from banking records and TransUnion CIBIL suggests that the loans — extended to several companies within the Reliance ADA Group ecosystem — now total approximately ₹48,282 crore across both public and private lenders.
The lending exposure spans major public sector institutions as well as private banks, underscoring how deeply the group’s financial distress spread across India’s credit system.
A Web of Loans Across Public and Private Banks
Among the lenders, the State Bank of India sanctioned the largest share of loans to Ambani-linked firms. Banking records indicate that SBI extended 16 loans totaling about ₹13,633 crore to companies including Reliance Communications, Reliance Naval, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Infratel.
Union Bank of India also emerged as a major lender, granting 11 loans worth ₹6,724 crore to Reliance Communications, Reliance Telecom and Reliance Naval.
Federal Bank, another lender involved in the network of financing, extended seven loans totaling ₹1,976 crore to Reliance Big Entertainment (US) Inc., a film production company linked to Ambani.
Other lenders included IFCI, UCO Bank, Axis Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Karur Vysya Bank.
In addition to these exposures, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) filed a civil suit against Reliance Commercial and Finance Limited for defaulting on a loan of ₹1,106 crore.
Guarantees, Directorships and Complicated Recovery Efforts
Loan records indicate that Anil Ambani was listed as a personal guarantor in some lending arrangements, though the documentation shows variations in how his name appeared across records, including “Anil D Ambani” and “Anil Dhirajlal Ambani.”
In several cases, company officials and staff members were listed as directors and guarantors on loans, creating layers of responsibility that have complicated recovery proceedings.
Banking officials say such variations and overlapping guarantees often make it more difficult for lenders to trace liability and pursue claims during insolvency or enforcement proceedings.
These complexities have emerged as lenders attempt to navigate multiple insolvency cases involving companies across the Reliance ADA Group.
Insolvency Proceedings and Asset Attachments
Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited, one of the largest borrowers in the network, received six loans worth ₹3,046 crore from the Central Bank of India alone, according to loan data.
The same bank later sanctioned six additional loans totaling ₹1,582 crore to Reliance Communications.Reliance Communications eventually accumulated dues estimated at around ₹48,000 crore before entering insolvency proceedings under India’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
The company was later acquired by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio through the insolvency process for about ₹430 crore, a transaction that significantly reduced the value recovered by lenders.
Enforcement authorities have also taken steps to attach assets linked to Ambani and his companies. Officials from the Enforcement Directorate said the agency has already attached assets valued at more than ₹20,000 crore as part of investigations tied to the defaults.
A System-Wide Exposure to Large Defaulters
The Ambani-linked defaults form part of a much broader issue facing India’s banking system. According to data from TransUnion CIBIL cited in reports on large defaulters across public sector banks, the total exposure across 11 state-run banks exceeds ₹29 lakh crore.
Two banks — State Bank of India and Union Bank of India — together account for roughly ₹15.75 lakh crore of that exposure. Union Bank alone faces approximately ₹9.96 lakh crore in defaults, while SBI’s exposure stands at about ₹5.79 lakh crore.
Many of the loans were reportedly sanctioned against pledged shares of companies whose valuations later declined sharply in stock markets. In several insolvency proceedings, these pledged shares have either been liquidated or substantially devalued, reducing the collateral available for recovery.
In court proceedings related to Anil Ambani’s loan default cases, India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that the insolvency process in some instances had “become a mockery,” reflecting concerns raised in legal challenges brought before the Supreme Court.
The petition raising these issues was filed by former government secretary EAS Sarma and argued in court by advocate Prashant Bhushan.
Meanwhile, banking officials say that following the filing of charge sheets and further court directions, lenders may eventually approach courts to claim their dues — estimated at ₹48,282 crore — from the assets already attached by enforcement authorities.
