Bank credit to SSI in NE dismal

Aizawl, Jan 8: The recent study of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)revealed the flow of public sector bank credit to the Small ScaleIndustries (SSI) in Northeast has yet to reach at desired level.

Official sources here today said the finding further stated thatthe banks were not adhering also to the time schedule of two monthsfrom the close of half-year for furnishing the statements in theprescribed formats to RBI.

The study conducted by the RBI across NE states, covering 43 bankbranches, on flow of credit to the SSI units in the region, also foundthat the interest rates on different loan amount slabs varied from bankto bank.

Most of the UBI branches had four slabs of interest rates whileState Bank of India (SBI) was also found charging different rates ofinterest ranging from 8.75 per cent to 11.25 per cent on the loan slabup to Rs 25,000. Moreover, many bank branches were obtaining collateralsecurity against SSI loan sanctioned up to Rs 15 lakh.

Out of the 43 bank branches covered under the study, 34 brancheshad not sanctioned any loan in the band of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh,while 22 of them had not sanctioned any loan in the band of Rs 5 lakhto Rs 10 lakh and 12 branches were insisting on collateral security forloans up to Rs 5 lakh, it mentioned.

Strangely enough, going by the report, more than 50 per cent ofthe bank branches surveyed by RBI, were not aware of the SSI charterissued, the sources added.

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