Banks target Rs 5350 Cr credit line for Himachal in 2009-10

By: Ravinder Makhaik

Shimla: Falling short of achieving total credit inclusion by end of March, bankers hope to reach each account holder in Himachal for providing a credit facility by May.
 
“Over 90 percent of the target has been achieved, said Ripan Murgai, convenor state level bankers committee (SLBC) said here on Friday.
 
Earlier BM Mittal, executive director UCO Bank that under the annual credit plan banks in Himachal would exceed the loan target of Rs 4230 crore for 2008-09 as Rs 3352 crore loan, which was 79% percent of the targeted amount, stood achieved by the December quarter.
 

“Credit disbursed to agriculture sector was Rs 997.04 crores, for the small scale industries sector Rs 322.46  crores, Rs 1164.99 crores to the services sector and Rs 867.62 crores to the other sectors”, he added.

 
Of the Rs. 401 Cr loan target for UCO bank, Rs 355 crore had been  disbursed. Recovery of loans was better than other states and stood at 81%, he said. However NPA’s for the state were higher at 4.26 percent than the national level.
 
For the 2009-10, the new credit plan proposed a loan target of Rs 5350 crore, said Mittal.
 
To reach all villages, banks intended to appoint banking correspondents which could meet retail banking needs in rural areas.
 
The bank was in the process of introducing core banking in all its branches and would be able to provide anywhere banking in them by 2010. In Himachal, UCO has 134 branches.
 
UCO had 375 ATM’s and proposed to install another 300 in the coming financial year. It had 6 ATM’s in Himachal and another 14 would be opened shortly.
 
Of the 48,324 self help groups SHG’s in the state, 13,666 were credit linked with UCO bank said Mittal.
 
Total banking business in the state which has 1349 bank branches, had increased to Rs 39,506 crores with deposits amounting to Rs 26,658.81 crores and advances stood at Rs 12,847.65 crores till end of December2008.
 
The total business has recorded a year on year growth of 16.29 per cent with deposit growth of 17.31 per cent and outstanding credit growth of 14.22 per cent”, he pointed out.
 
Presiding over the SLBC meet chief secretary Asha Swaroop asked banks to maintain credit flow to beat the recessionary trends.
 
She said that the banks should be specifically tasked with the objective of maintaining adequate credit lines for small, micro and mini enterprises.
 
Swaroop asked bankers to plan for meeting their specific credit deposit ratio targets.