The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed foreign banks with more than 20 branches to mandatorily create sub-targets to lend a portion of their loan
books to small and marginal farmers, as well as micro enterprises.
Banks, including Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC, have more than 20 branches in India. Foreign banks in India will have to eventually lend 40 per cent
of their total loan book to the priority sector by 2020.
Banks have been complaining against this mandate, but the creation of a sub-target is likely to put them off even more.
In a notification on its website, RBI said a sub-target