The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), will restructure over 41,000 accounts of small and micro enterprises (SMEs), which have been hit by the economic downturn. In December 2008, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced a package to support SMEs to deal with funding issues.
Low cash flow and drop in demand leading to pile-up of inventories have hit many SMEs. Banks have reduced lending rates, rescheduled payments and raised working capital limits for these units. SBI has already restructured 26,000 accounts.