State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman O P Bhatt today said banks will not stop lending to the real estate and the housing segments because of the scam unearthed by the CBI.
The real estate and the housing segments are important for the economy and, hence, banks will not stop lending (to them), Bhatt told reporters after a meeting of the Indian Banks Association (IBA) here.
He said what has happened is not a "system-wide issue" as only a few individuals have been arrested.
The bank always monitors the end use of the fund it lends, the SBI Chief said.
HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri and ICICI Bank's Chief Chanda Kochhar, both said the scam does not point to any systemic problem.
