Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a regional rural bank headquartered in Dharwad, posted a net profit of ₹104.16 crore during 2023-24 against a net profit of ₹40.25 crore in 2022-23, registering a growth of 159 per cent.

Shreekant M Bhandiwad, Chairman of KVGB, said the bank has strengthened the balance sheet by making suitable provisions and giving importance for recovery.

Stating that challenges persisted in rural areas, he said erratic rainfall impacted the economic development. Drought in several districts affected the service area of the bank, leading to a decline in CASA (current account, savings account), and NPA (non-performing asset) recovery. Despite this adversity, the bank devised strategies such as personalised service, door-to-door visits, and engagement with gram sabhas, yielding positive outcomes, he said.

Gross NPA came down from 6.96 per cent in 2022-23 to 5.72 per cent in 2023-24, and net NPA declined from 4.64 per cent in 2022-23 to 3.40 per cent in 2023-24. There was outstanding cash recovery of ₹741.1 crore during 2023-24.

The business level of the bank increased to ₹35884 crore in 2023-24 from ₹33151 crore in 2022-23. Despite the slowdown in economic activities due to adverse environment conditions, the bank was able to show a business growth of ₹2733 crore in 2023-24. He said this is well comparable with growth percentage of other banks.

Bhandiwad said the bank is looking at a total business of ₹40000 crore and a net profit of ₹175 crore during 2024-25. More thrust will be given to agriculture, MSME and retail sectors to achieve this.

At present, the bank has 629 branches and 10 regional offices in nine districts of northern and coastal Karnataka.

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