The government is looking for options to move a large chunk of IDBI Bank's bad loan to the country's biggest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), wherein SBI would "buy" both non-performing assets (NPAs) and standard stressed loans, Financial Express said on Monday.

SBI, is however concerned with the fact that the toxic assets of IDBI Bank are offered at a very unattractive price. IDBI Bank is willing to take haircuts on the sales of the loans of only around 20-50%.

Given the quality of the assets, the SBI management believes the discounts need to be much higher, somewhere in the region of 70-85%, the report said.

The government owns 80.96% stake in IDBI Bank and has been trying to take the load off for some time, but in vain. The sale of the toxic assets would make IDBI Bank’s balance sheet cleaner and the lender more eligible for an investment or takeover by a strategic investor, the report said.

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As on March 31, 2018, IDBI Bank’s NPAs were at a Rs 55,588 crore, of which the standard stressed loans accounted Rs 10,131 crore (fund and non-fund based), Financial Express report said.

Notable loans up for sale include IDBI Bank’s loans to Air India, GMR Hyderabad Vijayawada Expressways, KSK Mahanadi Power and a clutch of power projects, the report said.