Banks have a key role in development, says Isaac

Banks that could play a creative role in regional development are becoming increasingly significant, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said.

Inaugurating a seminar on ‘Banks and Kerala’s development’, organised by the Travancore State Bank Employees Association (TSBEA) affiliated to the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) here on Saturday, Dr. Isaac said that the credit-deposit ratio (CDR) was relatively low in the State and to raise the CDR, banks should become loan-entrepreneurial consultants too. The refrain that banks were not getting adequate investment proposals did not have much significance, he said.

Banks could advance loans for small and medium industrial start-ups. Banks could also give loans as additional investments for basic infrastructure facilities development to government financial institutions too. This could be in line with the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India and Securities and Exchange Board of India. Electronics and biotechnology sectors were growing. The only public sector bank that was headquartered in the State did not exist anymore and the government was going ahead with the Kerala Bank project. Considering such aspects, banks should play a creative roe in development process, Dr. Isaac said.

Unhealthy tendencies

Planning Board member Ravi Mamen delivered the keynote address. There were certain unhealthy tendencies in the State’s banking sector. The number of rural branches was on the decline. There was a dip in CDR too. Banks were turning their face to the bid to develop a new Kerala, he said.

Former State Bank of Travancore managing director E.K. Harikumar, and AIBEA State general secretary C.D. Joson spoke. TSBEA president Anyian Mathew was the moderator.