Liquidity will be comfortable by July end: SBI chief

Mumbai, July 13 (ANI): Om Prakash Bhatt, the Chairman of the State Bank of India, the country's largest bank financial institution, has said that the cash crunch in the banking system should begin to ease by the end of July.

Bhatt, who is also the Chairman of Indian Banks Association, said this while interacting with the media persons after his meeting with the top functionaries of Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank at Mumbai on Monday.

It may be recalled that cash available with banks have been tight after telecom companies pulled out more than 21 billion dollars to pay for 3G licences and broadband spectrum in late May and June.

"Even though the liquidity has improved...as you know and by the end of July and going ahead to August etc...liquidity is expected to be quite comfortable," said Bhatt.

He also mentioned that bankers had told the RBI that a 20 percent loan growth target was achievable in the current fiscal year to March.

India's industrial output grew at a slower-than-expected 11.5 percent from a year earlier, but expectations of a central bank rate hike for the second time this month remain unchanged due to inflationary pressures. (ANI)