Indian state banks' bad loans likely higher by end-March - finmin

NEW DELHI, March 5 (Reuters) - Indian state-run banks' bad loans are expected to be slightly higher by March-end from a year earlier, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Wednesday after reviewing their quarterly performance.

He added that banks recovered bad loans worth 189.33 billion rupees ($3.06 billion) during April to December.

Rising bad loans especially among state-run banks have become a key concern for lenders in India where recently a state-run lender, United Bank of India , saw a huge surge in its non-performing loans, triggering worries over its capital needs. ($1 = 61.9450 Indian Rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)

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Keywords: INDIA BANKS/LOANS