Banks will aim to improve their credit-deposit ratio in West Bengal to 68% by March, 2014.
"We agreed last year that the credit-deposit ratio for current financial year must be 65%. We reviewed the situation. As of September, it has improved across the state for each of the bank operating here. For next financial year (2013-14), banks have agreed to take the credit deposit ratio to 68%," D Subbarao, governor of the Reserve Bank of India, told reporters here today.
The governor today met the chiefs of three Kolkata-based public sector banks (Allahabad Bank, UCO Bank and United Bank of India) and other senior bankers at a state level bankers' committee meeting.
The credit-deposit ratio of banks in West Bengal is currently estimated at around 63%.
Subbarao said bankers identified 10 districts in the state where the credit-deposit ratio is below 40%. "We have agreed with banks that the credit deposit ratio in each of these districts will be improved by 5% from the current level by March, 2013," he said.
Later during her meeting with Subbarao, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee agreed to preside over a meeting of district magistrates, bankers and executives of RBI and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) to work out an action plan to improve the credit-deposit ratio in these districts.
Subbarao also said that tight financial position of West Bengal has made market borrowing expensive for the state government.
"Public finance in West Bengal has been tight. The way we note this is through the coupon rate, strength of borrowing by West Bengal. The rate at which West Bengal is able to borrow from the market is 10-15 basis points above the all-state average," he said.
West Bengal's debt burden of according to the last budget document was Rs 2.08 lakh crore. The outstanding debt of the government is set to increase to Rs 2.26 lakh crore in the present fiscal, making it one of the most indebted states in terms of tax to GSDP ratio.
"I met the finance minister of the state and he briefed me about what the state finance ministry is doing to improve the public finances of West Bengal," Subbarao added.
