The Hindu Business Line : Axis Bank to scale up operations in N-E

Axis Bank plans to scale up its operations in the small and medium enterprises segment in the North-East region, according to Mr Niladri Sircar, Vice-President, SME-Advances, North Eastern States, Axis Bank.

The SME portfolio of the bank in the region currently stands at Rs 100 crore, and the plan is to grow by 100 per cent in 2008-09. “Agro food processing, animal husbandry, automobiles and cement industry will be the key areas of focus of the bank for SME segment in the region,” Mr Sircar told Business Line.

The total SME advances of the bank, as on August 31, 2008, was Rs 12,000 crore. The bank’s SME portfolio in the N-E region was a year-and-a-half old, Mr Sircar said. “We have used the 10 branches spread across the seven North-East States to scale up our SME advances in the region,” he said.

According to Mr Sircar, animal husbandry offered a good growth potential in the region. “Animal husbandry is very good source of income generation so far as the North-East States are concerned. It is advantageous for banks to lend to this segment as it acts as a tangible asset or collateral for the loan extended,” he pointed out.

The rate of interest charged by the bank to the SME sector was usually sub-Prime Lending Rates.

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