State Bank of Travancore (SBT) plans to disburse ₹1,000 crore during the current financial year in the commercial and institutional segment in Kerala according to Jeevandas Narayan, Managing Director.
SBT’s credit portfolio covering the small business segment in South Kerala alone totals ₹6,500 crore across nearly 1,200 units.
Narayan said this while dedicating the bank’s first branch for mid-corporates along with G Vijaya Raghavan, member, State Planning Board, and M Sivasankar, Chairman, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
The branch will focus entirely on loans and attendant business. It is equipped to conduct project appraisal, financial consultancy for start-ups and advisory services on forex.
Narayan said SBT had reduced its base rate by 30 basis points over the last six months in order to push credit deployment further.
Vijaya Raghavan said that the mid-sized corporates have great potential for growth and loan delinquency rates could be relatively lower in this segment.
He urged banks to nurture this segment as well as units in the service sector for the economic growth of the State.
The KSEB Chairman stated that the power situation in the state was comfortable and the KSEB will be able to meet the power requirements of new units for at least the next five years.