The State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to close down two schemes targeted at non-resident Indians following lukewarm response. |
The two schemes were aimed to tap funds from the Resurgent India Bonds (RIB) proceeds. The schemes managed to mobilise just about Rs 2,300 crore. |
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Effective December 5, SBI closed down Pravasi Samriddhi and Pravasi Vaibhav schemes, which were introduced in October to tap the RIB proceeds, stated SBI chairman and managing director A K Purwar. He was speaking on the sidelines of the Bank Economists' Conference 2003 in Mumbai. |
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SBI had anticipated mobilising about 30-35 per cent of the total RIB proceeds of $ 5 billion. Later it downward revised its expectations to 15 per cent. |
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Other banks "" including ICICI Bank and Union Bank of India "" also introduced special schemes aimed at retaining a large portion of the RIB proceeds within the country. |
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While these schemes were to be kept open for a fortnight, the lukewarm response resulted in banks extending the last date to November 30 and beyond. |
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Meantime, SBI expects its non-food credit to rise by 15 per cent in fiscal 2004. Purwar said: "I am expecting 15 per cent growth this year," after expanding by 12-13 per cent last year. |
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He added that the bank's customers are talking of expansion, and this would account for the credit offtake. |
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Demand for bank loans is picking up in the country as corporates seek to expand capacity after a lull of over two years. |
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The pick-up in commercial lending will help broaden banks' earnings, which in recent years, have depended heavily on treasury operations and retail lending. |
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