Banks have made slow progress in writing off bad loans, and companies have been equally slow to sell off assets and reduce debts.

ECONOMIST: The danger of delay

Though Indian banks have been trying hard to improve the quality of earnings, they are still writing off bad loans made in the 1980s.

CNN: India Set to Pick Up Pace

Economists such as Richard Jerram of Macquarie Securities reckon that buoyant China-driven exports and investment over the past few years have lifted company profits and given the economy a boost, while making it easier for the banks to begin writing off their bad loans.

ECONOMIST: Japan’s moment of truth? | The

Worse, rather than writing their bad loans off, Japanese banks have merely written most of them down.

ECONOMIST: Will Tokyo finally clean house?