Andhra Bank sees agriculture as a growth trigger and a business opportunity for banks in near future, said CMD Andhra Bank, who was in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Chairman and managing director of Andhra Bank, RS Reddy told FE that both Punjab and Haryana being pre-dominantly agrarian states would show turnaround in their economies. Agriculture which was hitherto growing at below 2% is poised to grow at 4% this year. Reddy said, ?Food processing industry would be a growth area and banks can find business opportunity in that sector.?
He said, ?There was need to be cautious on educational loans as all pass outs who had been extended educational loans may not be employable.? He mentioned Andhra Bank had till now extended educational loans of about Rs 1,200 crore of which about Rs 25 crore loans had become non performing assets (NPA).
He said his vision for Andhra Bank was setting simple goals and monitoring the progress step by step. He said Andhra Bank has formed a joint venture banking company (name yet to be decided) with Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank, to do business in Malaysia. The Rs 400 crore company would see BOB pumping in Rs 200 crores and IOB and Andhra Bank putting in Rs 100 crores each. Reddy said Central Bank of Malaysia and Reserve Bank of India have given necessary approval for the same. On Andhra Bank’s performance, the CMD said the year goneby has been path breaking with deposits growing by 30%, current and saving accounts (CASA) by 22% and advances by 27%. On Chandigarh zone’s performance, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal, J&K and UT of Chandigarh, the CMD said the zone has a business of Rs 1,515 crore with deposits at Rs 865 crore and advances at Rs 660 crore.