The Hindu Business Line : Banks pledge to cooperate with Kerala Govt initiatives

THE Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank, Mr R.V. Shastri, has said banks in the State would wholeheartedly co-operate with the recent policy initiatives of the State Government to improve the investment climate in the State.

He said this while addressing the 82nd meeting of the State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) here on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed, among other things, the reliefs and concessions that could be made available to the farming sector of the State.

Mr Shastri appealed to all banks to strictly adhere to the guidelines laid down by the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) of charging an interest rate of not more than 9 per cent for crop loans up to Rs 50,000.

He announced that Canara Bank along with State Bank of India would extend loans under the Bhavanashree scheme of the State Government aimed at housing of the poor at reduced interest rate of 7.25 per cent. He appealed to all other banks to extend similar concession to this novel scheme of the Government.

All banks in the State would implement relief measures granted by the Centre for coffee and tea plantations. The measures include a moratorium period of 2 years for loan repayment, a reduction of interest rate by one per cent during the moratorium period and an extended repayment period for crop loans and term loans. Also the farmers issued Kisan Credit Cards would be compulsorily insured against personal accident.

C-D Ratio improves: Giving latest banking statistics in the State, Mr Shastri said the credit-deposit (CD) ratio has shown an increase of 3.98 percentage points over March 2002 to reach a decadal high of 46.69 per cent.

The growth rate under NR deposits has slowed down. As much as 45.16 per cent of the total credit of the banking sector is to priority sector (Rs 12,886 crore). Under the agriculture sector, the loan amount outstanding was Rs 3,478 crore.

According to Mr Shastri, the banking sector will disburse Rs 10,493 crore under the priority sector during the financial year 2003-2004. Of these, already 52.50 per cent (Rs 55,101 crore) has been disbursed by September 2003.

Decisions taken: Mr Shastri said the banking sector will explore the possibility of converting Kisan Credit Cards to smart cards for the benefit of the farming sector. All the eligible farmers of the State would be issued Kisan Credit Cards by March 2004.

More collateral free loans would be granted for the SSI sector under the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund Scheme. A sub-committee will be formed to review the matters relating to cluster development under the SSI sector. The coir cluster of Alappuzha and rubber cluster of Kottayam would be given preference.

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