Covid-19: Finance minister to look at credit flow

MUMBAI: In her meeting with banks on Friday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will take up the progress of Covid-related credit and the extent of pre-approved loans that have been sanctioned. The minister will meet with chiefs of public sector banks and heads of Nabard, Sidbi and the National Housing Bank through videoconference.
The FM has also called for details on the loan offers accepted and disbursement effected. In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, several banks have extended additional working capital limits and term loans to businesses to help overcome the liquidity challenges arising out of the lockdown. While many borrowers have sought increased lines of credit, quite a few have not drawn them as they await the lockdown to be lifted.
The new projects announced by the government under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme will also be discussed on Friday. These include the emergency credit line guarantee scheme providing up to Rs 3 lakh crore for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The FM has also called for data on the utilisation of the refinance limits by Nabard, NHB and Sidbi. The RBI had last month extended funding of Rs 50,000 crore, of which Rs 25,000 crore was for Nabard, Rs 15,000 crore for Sidbi and Rs 10,000 crore for the NHB for refinancing commercial lenders.