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SBT’s Q1 net profit up

Special Correspondent

Total income goes up to touch Rs. 892.08 crore

PROFIT UP: Pradeep Sankar, Chief General Manager and Managing Director-in-charge (second from left), addressing a press conference in Thiruvanan- thapuram on Friday. (To his left) R. G. Gadkari, General Manager (P&D), (on the right) A. Ramakrishnan, General Manager (O) and G. Damodaran, General Manager (V&I).

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Indicating a robust performance in the new year, the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) has posted a handsome 62.05 per cent increase in its net profit in the first quarter of the 2007-08 fiscal.

The bank’s net profit rose to Rs.87.28 crore from Rs.53.86 crore for the corresponding quarter last year. The quarter also saw the non-performing assets (NPAs) and the net non-performing assets of the bank coming down — the former from 2.98 per cent to 2.10 per cent and the latter from 1.50 per cent to 1.02 per cent.

The Capital to Risk Adjusted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of the bank, as at the end of June 2007, stood at 12.95 per cent against 11.25 per cent in the previous year.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the board of directors, SBT Chief General Manager Pradeep Shankar and General Manager R.G. Gadkari said the bank had set a business target of Rs. 13,000 crore for the whole year and indicated that the actual business volume may well exceed the figure.

The total income of the bank increased by 27.63 per cent during the first quarter to Rs. 892.08 crore from Rs. 698.94 crore during the same period last year. Correspondingly, the interest income rose by 32.75 per cent (year-on-year) to reach Rs.842 crore as against Rs. 634.28 crore during the first quarter last year. Mr. Shankar said the Credit-Deposit Ratio (CD ratio) of the bank in Kerala also saw a 5.68 per cent (year-on-year) increase to reach 69.32 per cent from 63.64 per cent. The deposit base of the bank on an year-on-year basis increased by 23.20 per cent to touch Rs. 31,879 crore from Rs.25,875 crore.

The gross advances rose by 28.57 per cent on a year-on-year basis to touch Rs.25,143 crore as at the end of the first quarter from Rs.19,556 crore.

The total business of the bank grew by 25.51 per cent to post Rs.57,022 crore as at the end of June 2007 from Rs.45,431 crore at the end of June 2006.

Under the Special Agricultural Credit Plan (SACP), the bank disbursed Rs.2,090 crore during 2006-07 against the budgeted sum of Rs.2,000 crore. The bank had exceeded the targets in this segment during the previous three years as well. The year-on-year disbursal under SACP for the quarter ended June 2007 was 125 per cent more than the corresponding quarter last year. The level agricultural loan portfolio as at the end of the quarter was Rs.3,135 crore.

The bank, Mr. Shankar said, aimed at placing more thrust on finance under micro credit and joint liability groups and promotes more Farmers’ Clubs and Agri Clinics for the benefit of farmers. Under the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment, the bank had recorded a growth of 41 per cent during 2006-07 against the Government stipulated 20 per cent.

The year-on-year growth up to June 2007 was Rs.1,047.18 crore (41.28 per cent). The bank has fixed an annual target of Rs.770 crore under this segment for 2007-08. During the current year, the bank also plans to popularise Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Small Industries (CGTSI) scheme for providing collateral-free loans to SSI units up to Rs.50 lakh and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) scheme of Khadi and Village Industries Commission/Board.

The overall lending to the priority sector in the State by the bank during 2006-07 stood at Rs.3,703 crore against a target of Rs.2,754 crore registering an achievement of 134 per cent. Alappuzha district, where SBT is the lead bank, is the fourth district in the State that has been brought under 100 per cent financial inclusion in June 2007 providing banking facilities to the lesser-privileged sections of society.

Palakkad district was the first to achieve this, followed by Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Alappuzha and Wayanad.

The bank, Mr. Gadkari said, had written off farm loans to the tune of Rs. 4.50 crore in the crisis-hit districts of Palakkad and Wayanad. The first quarter of 2007-08 also saw the bank launch a new loan product under the personal segment namely ‘Jai Jawan Pension Loan.’ This is a scheme for financing pensioners of defence and paramilitary forces who retire at very young age, Mr. Shankar said.

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