The Hindu : Kerala / Kollam News : Banks told to shed partisan attitude

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Kollam

Banks told to shed partisan attitude

By Our Staff Reporter

The Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran inaugurating the ``Bank Parliament'' organised by the SBT Staff Union in Kollam on Tuesday.

KOLLAM, NOV. 16. The Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran has said that when justice goes in favour of those with influence, it will result in the common man losing faith in democracy.

He was inaugurating a ``Bank Parliament'' organised here today as a prelude to the National conference of the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) Staff Union to be held here from November 20 to 22.

Mr. Sudheeran, who also officiated as the Speaker of the ``Bank Parliament'', said that on the issue of repaying bank loans, it was generally seen that when those sections having influence remained permanent defaulters with the connivance of authorities for huge loans availed, the common man often gets penalised heavily.

Banks criticised

The authorities were often seen having a soft corner towards the corporate sector that accounted for the major share of the non-performing assets. On the other hand, a farmer availing himself of a small loan was hounded for any delay in repayment. Such differences in approach had often resulted in the farmers taking the extreme step of committing suicide, he said.

He called for a comprehensive introspection on the performance of the banking sector. There were banks that evolved ways on how to avoid giving loans. While banks were reluctant to extend agricultural loans, these days bank were going out of the way to advance personal and housing loans. In comparison to other States, the CD ratio in Kerala was at an alarming low of 48.8 per cent, he said.

Mr. Sudheeran said that banks do have their own logical explanation for being thrifty when it comes to extending certain categories of loan. He said that while loan applications should be made only for viable projects, effective utilisation of the loan availed of should also be ensured.

The ``Bank Parliament'' was organised as a measure to create awareness on the banking system. Questions on the subject from a cross section of society were answered by a team comprising the former general manager of the SBT, K.T. Rajagopal, the assistant general manager of the NABARD, N. Ramesh, the Indian Bank (district lead bank) manager, Chandrashekara Iyer, the general manager of the District Cooperative Bank, Reghunatha Chettiyar, the chief manager of the Syndicate Bank, P.G. Nair, and the trade union leader of the bank employees, Sadasivan Pillai.

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