ICICI Bank’s executive director V Vaidyanathan has said that retail as well as wholesale loan portfolios banks in India were likely to witness a spurt in the near future as recent monetary measures infused adequate liquidity into the system.
He further said that mortgage and car loans currently formed core lending portfolios of the ICICI Bank and the bank would continue to remain focused on these segments in future
Speaking on the sidelines of the Fifth Annual Conference on Payment Systems in Mumbai on Friday, he hinted that ICICI Bank might lower its lending rates if liquidity sustained in the Indian banking system.
“The NPA situation in India too is very comfortable at present and inflation has also fallen down to lower levels. These factors urge the Indian banking system to go for more lending,” he said.
Vaidyanathan further said that BPLR was not the lone factor that was pivotal to the credit growth of a bank.
“We have offered impeccable banking services at a slightly higher interest rate than some of the state-owned banks and yet have built a considerable retail as well as corporate loan portfolio in the past,” he said.
Vaidyanathan said that mortgage and car loans currently formed core lending portfolios of the ICICI Bank and they would continue to remain focused on these segments in future. Also, credit funding to SME sector would be given a thrust.
Vaidyanathan refused to comment on ICICI Bank’s future relationship with the Satyam Computers. The bank currently holds salary accounts of many employees of Satyam.
However, he stated that the banks in India would adopt cautious measures before taking a final call on lending money to many companies in the country.
“A lending decision cannot be taken merely based on the strength of the company’s audited balance sheet,” he said.