The Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) has mandated Punjab National Bank to initiate insolvency proceedings against Bhushan Power and Steel for having defaulted on payment of as much as Rs 55,000 crores. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is also investigating whether the money was transferred for purposes other than for which it was taken by the company. From the beginning of this week, public sector and private lenders have held a series of meetings to decide the fate of a dozen defaulters identified by the RBI which has ordered banks to refer these cases to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after the central bank was empowered to direct lenders to take action against defaulters. Over the next 15 days, lenders will file applications with the NCLT seeking approval to embark on the corporate insolvency process. The 12 defaulting companies owe a total Rs 2.5 lakh crore which constitutes 25% of all bad loans in the banking system.