Vijaya Bank V'wada mobilises Rs 712cr

The Vijayawada region of Vijaya Bank pooled deposits worth Rs 712.36 crore and advanced loans totalling Rs 618.64 crore in a total business of Rs 1,331 crore at the end of the financial year 2006-07.

The business was Rs 1,096 crore in 2005-06. The region comprises 41 branches and two currency chests in 9 coastal Andhra and Chittoor districts.

M Sadanand Hegde, bank's regional manager, said the region's credit-deposit ratio stood at 86.84 per cent, which he claimed was highest. Average business per employee in the region was Rs 2.88 crore.

He said the outstanding figure in agriculture rose from Rs 200.12 crore to Rs 237.23 crore (over 8.54 per cent) with a total disbursement under various agriculture advances totalling Rs 179.12 crore as against the target of Rs 175.00 crore in the year.

The bank advanced Rs 15 crore input finance to tobacco farmers coming under Buttayagudem, Gopalapuram and Ongole branches in tie up with the Tobacco Board. The total crop loans given to tobacco farmers cumulated to Rs 40 crore at these branches.

The total credit under priority sector (outstanding) rose to Rs 521.11 crore as on March 31, 2007, as against Rs 389.38 crore in the corresponding previous year, recording a growth of 33.83 per cent.

The amount was 84.23 per cent of the year's total credit. The bank also advanced Rs 48.09 crore to small scale industries (SSIs) as against the target of Rs 43 crore.

The branches in the region issued 16,984 fresh Vijaya Kisan cards as against a target of 5,000 in 2006-07, Hegde said. The number of total cards had now touched 21,127.

They also financed 1,138 self-help groups (target 1,000 SHG) with a loan component of Rs 6.98 crore. In appreciation of region's service to SHG, the state government awarded the bank a merit certificate.

It helped 57 raithu mithra groups (RMG) with a finance of Rs 55.57 lakh. The region recovered Rs 10.37 crore NPAs, including Rs 72.74 lakh under the Securitisation Act.

The bank opened new branches at Kakinada and Visakhapatnam and an ATM at Kakinada during the year. The bank would set up ATMs at Ongole, Rajahmundry, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Gopalapuram, Madanapalle, Tenali, Chittoor, Eluru, Bhimavaram, and Tirupati in 2007-08, he said.

It would also bring 12 branches (Ongole, Rajahmundry, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Goplapuram, Madanapalle, Tenali, Chittoor, Nellore, Eluru, Bhimavaram, and Gudivada) of the region under the core banking solutions.