Eye on retail, SME credit as public sector banks prepare for festivals

Banks to ramp up efforts during outreach programme

Public sector banks (PSBs) are fine-tuning plans for the upcoming festive season instead of waiting for an outreach programme to scale up credit off-take across the country. Besides retail and farm sectors, thrust will also be on export credit, in tune with global recovery, bankers said.

Saloni Narayan, deputy managing director (retail business) State Bank of India (SBI), said the festive season has started in the south with Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi set to be celebrated in the west next month.

Banks are in better shape with comfortable capital adequacy, provisions cover for bad loans and enhanced credit filters, as compared to