Startling rise in toxic assets of banks by March 2018 following the asset quality review of the Reserve Bank of India in 2015 heightened concerns. The fear of further deterioration of asset quality due to COVID-19-induced stress culminated into the historic step to form of National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd –bad bank. When the loan recovery ecosystem is gradually strengthened with the enactment of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, formation of bad banks can only be a temporary measure. With the improved credit appraisal, monitoring and debt resolution mechanism, banks should be capable to enforce recovery of loans and manage asset quality without the perpetual help of external institutions. The urgency is for banks to improve people and system competency to source quality credit, monitor it and recover it in time as part of normal banking operations. Bad banks cannot be a panacea against the systemic flaws in credit administration.